Sydney Uni Wheelchair Flames representatives Sarah Stewart and Katie Hill have been officially named in the 12-strong Australian women’s Paralympic wheelchair basketball team, the Gliders.
Stewart and Hill, who are members of the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) Sydney Uni WheelKings team (open to men and women) in addition to the Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) Sydney Uni Wheelchair Flames, are part of a Gliders squad that are looking for their first ever Paralympic gold medal, having won two silvers and a bronze from the last three Games.
Stewart, a Sydney University Elite Athlete Program (EAP) scholarship holder studying a PhD in Philosophy, will be heading off to her third consecutive Parlaympics, while this will be Hill’s second appearance at a Paralympics.
The Gliders won bronze in Beijing in 2008 after losing to eventual gold medallists, the USA in the semi-final and finished fourth at the 2010 World Championships, before stepping up their ball play to take the crown at the 2011 Asia Oceania Championships and securing their place in London.
The London 2012 Paralympic Games will take place from 29 August – 9 September with the wheelchair women’s basketball medal finals held on September 7.
