Australian Ryley Batt may have just finished his sixth Paralympic Games but wheelchair rugby’s poster boy is refusing to call it a day.
Batt, who turned 35 in May, guided Australia to a bronze medal in Paris on Thursday by beating Great Britain, adding to his collection of two golds and a silver.
He made his Games debut in Athens 2004 and holds the record for most Paralympic appearances for an Australian alongside wheelchair basketball players Tristan Knowles and Shaun Norris.
Britain’s Sarah Storey, formerly a swimmer and now a cycling specialist, holds the overall Paralympics record with nine participations.
“I didn’t get off the court for one minute, I am pretty knackered,” Batt told AFP after scoring more than half of his side’s points in their 50-48 third-place final win over Britain.
“When you get to throw on the green and gold and represent Australia, you give everything you’ve got.
“It’s not the end, it’s something I’ll asses later on.
“I just want to be able to give back to those people who have supported me.
“Now I want to enjoy the small things in life, once I’m content with that I’ll have a look at sport,” he added.
Batt was born without legs and refused to use a wheelchair until he was 12, preferring a skateboard to help with mobility.
Three years later he was at the Paralympics in Athens, becoming the youngest ever wheelchair rugby player at a Games — but he says the level has gone up sharply since then.
“The whole sport’s changed dramatically in the last 20 years,” Batt said.
“Any of these top eight teams would wipe the floor with the gold medal teams from that Games. They wouldn’t even be within 20 points of them.
“You can see the intensity out there, the pressure we put on ourselves,” he added.
‘Bittersweet’
Having won the 2022 world championships, Australia had set their sights on gold, having won the title in London in 2012 and Rio four years later.
In Paris, they missed out on reaching the gold medal match in an agonising one-point defeat to Japan in the semi-finals.
It meant the bronze medal was “bittersweet”, but Batt added: “It’s something we need to be proud of.”
“I’m disappointed and I will remember some of the mistakes in that semi-final.
“We probably could, would have, should have been in the gold medal match. It was really heart-wrenching.
“I’ve never been so low in sport, heavier than any loss I’ve ever had.
“To be able to pick up the pieces and win the bronze and bring that back to our friends, families and everyone who’s supported us, that’s what it’s all about,” he added.
Batt is considered wheelchair rugby’s greatest player, due to his medal haul, longevity and try-scoring ability.
Despite the aggressive collisions and the nickname “murderball”, the sport is evolving.
“It’s definitely brutal,” Batt said. “In a game like that (against Britain), it’s funny because there’s not those massive hits as you’re playing so tight to players.
“When you get to the elite level and you make a hit like that, you’re off your job,” he added.
Following the Paralympics, Batt will spend some time in Paris and then London for a friend’s wedding before returning to his cattle farm in Queensland.
“I’ll have a look around Paris,” Batt said.
“I’m popping over to London for a family friend’s wedding with my partner Hannah.
“We’ll fly back home and I’ll enjoy time on my farm that my partner are in and enjoy some quality time with my cows,” he added.
