Matt Byrne

Matt Byrne

Personal information
Birth name	Matt Byrne
Full name	Matt Byrne
Born	(1974-10-08) 8 October 1974 Nottingham
Sport
Country	Great Britain
Sport	Wheelchair basketball

Matt Byrne (born 8 October 1974) is a British wheelchair basketball player. He was selected to play for Team GB in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.

Personal life

Byrne was born on 8 October 1974 in Nottingham. He is a Paraplegic, meaning that he has an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. He was introduced into wheelchair basketball during his rehabilitation at a hospital, after he was in a motorcross accident at the age of fifteen.Matt currently lives in Trowell, with wife Anna and poochie Bo.

Wheelchair basketball

Byrne was introduced into wheelchair basketball after a motorcross accident when he was fifteen. Since then, he has played with the Sheffield Steelers wheelchair basketball club for five years, before moving to the Nottingham Jaguars, near where he was born. He has won the Super League many times with his current club, the Wolverhampton Rhinos (RGK TCAT Rhinos). He made his Great Britain Debut in 2001.

Byrne competed in his first championship in Amsterdam, the 2001/2002 European Championships. He finished in fourth position, putting him out of the medals. However, in 2002, he achieved a silver medal in the 2002 World Championships in Kitakyushu, on the third-largest island of Japan. In the Sassari 2003 European Championships, he finished in third position; winning bronze. In 2004, Byrne competed in his first Paralympics, the 2004 Summer Paralympic Games, held in Athens, Greece. Along with his team, he won bronze in this event. In the 2005 European Championships in Paris, France, Byrne finished in silver medal position. In his second world championship, the 2006 World Championships held in Amsterdam, he finished in fifth position, along with his team-mates. In 2007 there was Byrne's third silver at the European Championships in Wetzlar, Netherlands. Byrne won bronze at his second Olympics, the 2008 Summer Paralympics, held in Bejing. The following year, he also won bronze in Adana, Turkey, at the European Championships. In 2011, Byrne won gold at the European Championships, held in Nazareth, northern Israel. He was chosen to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, held in London.