Tristan Malcolm Knowles, OAM[1] (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian wheelchair basketball player and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and silver medals at the 2004 Athens and 2012 London Paralympics. He was a member of the Roller at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, his sixth Games.[2][3]
 Tristan Knowles in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Tristan Malclom Knowles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Wollongong Roller Hawks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Personal
editKnowles was born on 25 April 1983 in Wodonga, Victoria.[4] He became an above the knee amputee as a result of cancer.[4] He went to the University of Wollongong where he earned a degree in commerce.[4] When not playing basketball, he is a financial planning manager with the Commonwealth Bank. He established the Tristan Knowles Kids Cancer Foundation.[5]
Basketball
edit
Knowles first played wheelchair basketball in 1999.[4] He is a 4 point player and plays in the guard-forward position.[5]
State team
editKnowles played for the New South Wales U21 state team in the national competition. The state U21 team won the national championships four years in a row with Knowles as the captain.[4]
National team
editKnowles's first appearance on the national team was in 2001.[4]
Paralympics
edit
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Knowles was part of the silver medal-winning Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2004 Summer Paralympics.[6][7] He was also part of the gold medal-winning Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2008 Summer Paralympics,[8][6] for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia.[1]
In October 2011, Knowles was named as part of the senior national squad that would compete at the Paralympic qualifying tournament for the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[9] At the 2012 Summer Paralympics he was part of the Australian men's wheelchair team that won silver.[10] In 2016, he was selected for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, his fourth games,[11] where his team, The Rollers, finished sixth.[12]
At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, the Rollers finished fifth with a win–loss record of 4–4.[2][13] At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, he was a member of the Rollers that finished fifth with a win/loss record of 3-3.[14]
World Championships
editKnowles was part of the 2006 national squad that finished third at the World Championships.[4] In 2009, he was part of the national side that competed at the Rollers World Challenge. In the match against Japan, he scored 15 points.[15] He was a member of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team that won the gold medal at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship[16][17][18] and 2014 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships.[19] In 2018, he was a member of the Rollers that won the bronze medal at 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Hamburg, Germany. [20]
Club basketball
editKnowles has played professional wheelchair basketball in Australia, Spain and Italy.[4] As of 2011[update] has played with the Wollongong Roller Hawks for 11 years.[21] When playing for the Roller Hawks, he wears the number 9.[21] In 2003, the Wollongong Roller Hawks, competed in the NWBL Championship and won.[4][22] In the first game of the 2011 season against the Perth Wheelcats, he scored 44 points.[23] His team went on to beat the Perth Wheelcats in the 2011 NWBL Championship. In the finals game, he scored 48 points.[24]
In 2010, Knowles was playing club basketball with Valladolid in Spain. [25] He was the team's season MVP in 2011.[26]
Recognition
editIn 2002, Knowles was named the New South Wales Wheelchair Basketballer of the Year.[22] In 2004, Knowles and Brendan Dowler received the Illawarra Mercury Sports Star of the Year Award.[22]
References
edit- ^ a b "Knowles, Tristan Malcolm". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Standards And Culture To Drive Revamped Rollers". Paralympics Australia. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Fire Burns For Veteran Rollers Picked For Paris 2024 | Paralympics Australia". www.paralympic.org.au. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Tristan Knowles". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ a b "Tristan Knowles". Basketball Australia website. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Basketball Chronology". Basketball Australia. 2010. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ "Results - ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games - Wheelchair Basketball - Men". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ McGarry, Andrew (4 September 2008). "Event guide: Wheelchair basketball". ABC. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ Gold, David (28 October 2011). "Australia name wheelchair basketball squads for London 2012 qualifying event". Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ "Men's Wheelchair Basketball Results". London 2012 Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ "Australian Rollers ready for Rio 2016 revenge". Australian Paralympic Committee. 19 July 2016. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Hosts shock Rollers to end Rio campaign". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ "Rollers end Tokyo campaign fifth". New South Wales Institute of Sport. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ "Point Proven, But Rollers Lament Lost Opportunity | Paralympics Australia". www.paralympic.org.au. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ AAP. "Rollers roll over Japan". Sydney, Australia: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ "Basketball Australia : 2010 WC Team". Basketball Australia. 2010. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ "Newsletter 2010 July 2010". Australian Athletes With a Disability. July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ "Rollers Int History". Basketball Australia. 2010. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ "Rollers are back to back World Champions". Australian Paralympic Committee News, 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- ^ "Rollers earn bronze at the 2018 World Championships". Basketball Australia website. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Tristan Knowles". Wollongong Roller Hawks. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ a b c "2004: Brendan Dowler and Tristan Knowles (wheelchair basketball)". Illawarra Mercury. 3 February 2004. p. 9. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
- ^ Dimozantos, Emily (23 June 2011). "Wheelcats Triumphant in First Game Back". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ "Wollongong Roller Hawks claim 2011 NWBL Title". Basketball Australia. 19 August 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ "FOUR NSW TEAM REPRESENTATIVES NAMED IN ROLLERS TEAM TO PLAY ENGLAND" (PDF). New South Wales Basketball. 29 June 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ Keeble, Tim (16 September 2011). "Roller Hawks ready to rumble". Illawarra Mercury. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
