History will be made when five of Australia’s greatest basketballers take to the court in Paris at the Olympics and Paralympics.
Rollers legends Tristan Knowles and Shaun Norris will represent Australia at a remarkable sixth Paralympics. The duo, who have competed at Athens, Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo, began their Paralympic careers together two decades ago and were key members of the iconic 2008 gold-medal winning team. Knowles, 41, and Norris, 39, join Richard Oliver, who represented his country at the Games from 1976 to 1996 where he retired on a fairytale gold medal in Atlanta, as the only Rollers to play at six Paralympics.
Lauren Jackson’s career 2.0 will reach a new, dizzy height when she becomes the first Australian female basketballer to represent her country at five Olympics. It’s been 24 years since Jackson, 43, made her Games debut in Sydney 2000. She won a silver medal with the Opals at her first three Olympic campaigns in 2000, Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. It’s been 12 years between Games for Jackson who captained Australia to a bronze medal in London.
Patty Mills, who turns 36 on the day of the closing ceremony, and Joe Ingles, 36, join elite company in representing the Boomers at a fifth Olympics. The pair made their Olympic debuts in Beijing and have competed at the following four Games with the pinnacle, so far, the Boomers’ first Olympic medal in Tokyo.
Jackson, Mills and Ingles join the legendary Andrew Gaze as five-time basketball Olympians for their country.
Gaze (Sydney, 2000), Jackson (London, 2012) and Mills (Tokyo, 2020) have all been Australian flag bearers.
Paris will also mark special milestones for two of Australia’s four head coaches in Paris.
Opals coach Sandy Brondello will represent her country at a sixth Games. As a player, she competed in Seoul in 1998, was part of the history-making Opals bronze-medal winning team in Atlanta then silver-medal hauls in Sydney and Athens. She coached at her first Games in Tokyo with Paris marking her second as Opals mentor.
Brad Ness represented his country with distinction in five Paralympics and captained the Rollers to their 2008 Beijing gold medal. Now, coach of the team he was once the star player of, Ness will achieve his sixth Paralympic campaign in Paris as he looks to guide the Rollers to another medal.
