Tristan Knowles

While most kids his age were playing sport or video games, Tristan Knowles spent most of his pre-teens inside the four walls of a hospital.

A bone cancer diagnosis at age nine led to an above-knee amputation. Tristan relapsed at age 12 and underwent 22 courses of chemotherapy and a lung lobectomy before, finally, he entered remission.

Yet, the courage and spirit Tristan drew upon during his medical challenges also enabled him to carve out one of the most enduring and successful wheelchair basketball careers in recent memory.

Over two decades, Tristan has represented Australia at six Paralympic Games and six World Championships, winning multiple medals along the way, including Paralympic gold at Beijing 2008 and silver at Athens 2004 and London 2012, and world championship gold in 2010 and 2014. 

At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, the Rollers improved on their sixth-place finish at Rio 2016, beating Turkey in their final match to secure fifth place.

Tristan was the team’s captain at Paris 2024 and, along with long-time teammate Shaun Norris, led a team that will form the basis of a new generation of Australian representatives in the highly popular sport.