Andrew John Edmondson (born 24 June 1990) is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He won a gold medal at the

2016 Rio Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 Sept ...

and a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Personal

Edmondson was born on 24 June 1990. His friends call him "Edmo". At the age of 13, he broke his neck whilst surfing at Coogee Beach. At the time, he had received a scholarship to play

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

at Scots College in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He has a Bachelor of Sports Business from the Australian College of Physical Education. In 2021, he lives in

Port Macquarie, New South Wales Port Macquarie, sometimes shortened to Port Mac and commonly locally nicknamed Port, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane, on the Tasman Sea coast at the mouth of the ...

and is able to train with Ryley Batt. He has business role working for Melrose Wheelchairs and is a part of a public speaking programme through the Australian Institute of Sport in regards to mental health.

Wheelchair rugby

As part of his rehabilitation, he watched a video on wheelchair rugby whilst at the

Prince of Wales Hospital Prince of Wales Hospital is a regional acute government hospital located in Sha Tin, New Territories in Hong Kong, China. It is also a teaching hospital of the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Named after Ki ...

and became interested in the sport. In 2004, he attended an

Australian Paralympic Committee Paralympics Australia (PA) previously called the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (1998–2019) is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the preparation and management of Australian tea ...

Come and Try Day. He made his debut for the national team the Australian Steelers in 2014. As of 2016, he has been a member of the NSW Gladiators for 10 years and captained the team for the last two years. In 2015, he played in the United States wheelchair rugby competition. He was a member of the team that retained its gold medal at the

after defeating the United States 59–58 in the final. He was awarded the

Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in 2017. At the 2018 IWRF World Championship in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, he was a member of the Australian team that won the silver medal after being defeated by Japan 61–62 in the gold medal game. Edmondson his won first world championship gold medal at the 2022 IWRF World Championship in

Vejle, Denmark Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality (''Municipalities of De ...

, when Australia defeated the United States . At the 2024 Summer Paralympics, he was a member of the Steelers that won the bronze medal defeating Great Britain 50–48.

References

External links

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Andrew Edmondson's Story – Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmondson, Andrew Paralympic wheelchair rugby players for Australia Wheelchair rugby players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair rugby players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair rugby players at the 2024 Summer Paralympics 1990 births Living people People educated at Scots College (Sydney) Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Paralympic medalists in wheelchair rugby