Bendigo's Jontee Brown wins wheelchair basketball world title
Jontee Brown was part of the Australian Rollers. The team won the wheelchair basketball world championship. They defeated Italy 81-57.
Bendigo's Jontee Brown helped Australia's wheelchair basketball team win the world championship in Canada over the weekend. The Rollers defeated Italy 81-57 in the final.
The Rollers finished an unbeaten tournament. Brown, 28, was competing in his first senior major championship for Australia.
The team improved a lot from Australia's last world championships in 2023, when it finished seventh. His grandmother saw wheelchair basketball on TV at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Two years later, Brown took it up. In 2015, a cut to his leg caused a bacterial infection.
This led to ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory spinal condition. Before the tournament, Brown played for six months in Turkey to prepare.
He now plays for the Wollongong Roller Hawks in Australia's National Wheelchair Basketball League.
- 28
- Brown's age
- 81-57
- Final score
- 2010 and 2014
- Australia's previous world titles
- 6 months playing in Turkey
- Brown's preparation
Why it mattersIt shows how elite athletes with disabilities compete at the highest level. It highlights Australia's world-class wheelchair sports program. It also shows the Paralympic pathway.
AustraliaAustralia's third wheelchair basketball world title boosts the sport's profile at home and inspires young disabled athletes to pursue elite competition.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 d ago
