Jason Lees
| File:XXXX15 - Jason Lees - 3b - 2016 Team processing.jpg 2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Lees | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National team | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 March 1977 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wheelchair rugby | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | 1.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Jason Lees is a wheelchair rugby player from Victoria and was a member of the Australian Steelers that won the gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics and competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.[1][2]
Biography
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Lees' life changed in June 2000. Lees, a mechanic at the time, was on a motocross circuit in Laverton, Victoria. His bike ran off the track and the resulting accident led to him breaking his neck.[3] He is paralysed from the chest down but has recovered some mobility since the accident, improving to a point where he can 'stand a bit and use my arms a bit.'[3] His partner is Melanie Josephs and they have two girls.[4] He works part-time for Disability Sport and Recreation.[citation needed]
In 2002, Lees started playing wheelchair rugby on a social, non-competitive level.
In 2009, he made his debut for the Victoria state team and the Australian Steelers. He competed in the 2010 World Rugby Wheelchair Championships, where his team captured a silver medal.[5]
Lees was a member of the Steelers, and they won the gold medal at the 2012 London Paralympics. He was a member of the Australian team[specify] that won its first world championship gold medal at the 2014 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships at Odense, Denmark.[6]
He was a member of the team that retained its gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics after defeating the United States 59–58 in the final.[7]
At the 2018 IWRF World Championship in Sydney, Australia, 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.[8]
At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, the Steelers finished fourth after being defeated by Japan 52–60 in the bronze medal game. COVID travel restrictions led to Steelers not having a team training since March 2020 prior to Tokyo.[9]
Lees was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."[10]
Lees announced his retirement from the Steelers in November 2021 and moved to a Development Coach with Paralympics Australia.[11]
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Jason Lees at Paralympics AustraliaLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Jason Lees at the International Paralympic Committee Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Jason Lees wedding
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- Australia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
- Australian wheelchair rugby players
- Paralympic wheelchair rugby players for Australia
- Wheelchair rugby players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
- Wheelchair rugby players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
- Wheelchair rugby players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
- Paralympic gold medalists for Australia
- Living people
- 1977 births
- Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
- Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
- Paralympic medalists in wheelchair rugby
- Sportsmen from Victoria (state)