UQ wheelchair rugby stars putting Para-sports in the spotlight
By Michael Jones
Conor Tweedy can still remember the day he visited the Spinal Injuries Unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital as a teenager with his father.
“Dad’s a physical activity and disability researcher and took me along to the hospital. I remember being really freaked out about it,” Conor said.
“Seeing people who had suffered permanent injuries and confined to wheelchairs was pretty confronting for a 14-year-old.
“I never imagined that two years later I would be a patient in there myself.”
Conor was a promising rugby player when he suffered a spinal cord injury in a scrum collapse during a game for the St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace Second XVs in 2018.
He was the third player to break his neck in a spate of four serious Queensland schoolboy rugby union spinal injuries in a three-week period that year.
He was initially paralysed from the chest down and told his chances of recovery were uncertain.
Four years after his injury, the UQ Bachelor of Exercise and Nutrition Science student is back playing competitive sport at a national level and helped Queensland claim a silver medal at the Wheelchair Rugby National Championships on the Gold Coast, which were played on 24–26 June.
“I think I have had one of the smoother transitions and recoveries compared to some people in my situation,” Conor said.
“I had a lot of support from [St Joseph’s College, Gregory] Terrace.
“My injury happened when I was in Year 11, and I had a year left of school. I honestly don’t think I would have been able to finish Year 12 at the time without the school’s help. They managed to fit in my studies around my rehabilitation schedule.
“Obviously, the doctors and nurses at the PA Hospital were great and they are very clinical in what they do.”
On top of the excellent care Conor received at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, he was also lucky to have the support of his father and mother, who specialise in spinal disability classification and physiotherapy respectively.
Conor’s father, Sean Tweedy, is an associate professor at UQ’s School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences and has spent his career working with people with spinal injuries and other severe disabilities. He is also an expert on Para-sport classification. Conor’s mother, Rebecca, is a musculoskeletal physiotherapist.
"If I have any questions about my body, Mum and Dad are always on hand, and they have great tips and ideas about how to fix any little niggles I might have,” Conor said.
Conor Tweedy with his trophies after UQ won the Wheelchair Rugby National League tournament in May. Image: Sportography
Conor Tweedy with his trophies after UQ won the Wheelchair Rugby National League tournament in May. Image: Sportography
Conor credits the sport of wheelchair rugby as a key component in his recovery.
“I got into wheelchair rugby quite quickly after my injury,” Conor said.
“The doctors were keen for me to get back into sport. Coming from a rugby union background, wheelchair rugby was the obvious choice for me.
“I never thought I would compete at a high level or anything like that. It was just about staying active. But over the past year or so, I’ve been able to put myself on the radar and get selected in a few representative teams.
“It’s a tough sport, but I’m not new to hard work and it’s similar to rugby in some ways.”
It was Conor’s second appearance for Queensland at the national championships, and his selection is a reward for his outstanding form for the UQ Wheelchair Rugby Club, which won the inaugural Wheelchair Rugby National League in May.
He joined fellow Red Heavies teammates Matthew Thompson, Justin Taylor, Damien Mortaud, and Michael Ozzane in the Queensland squad.
Image: Sportography
The UQ Wheelchair Rugby Club, captained and coached by dual Paralympic gold medallist Chris Bond, got through all three rounds of the national league undefeated before their resounding 62-38 win over Queensland rivals, Brothers, in the final game.
Bond said it was a remarkable achievement for a team that came together only weeks before the competition started.
An expression of interest was put out to athletes across the country to take part in the competition. Players were then allocated into clubs and the talent was distributed as evenly as possible, while trying to keep players in teams from their home states.
UQ Wheelchair Rugby Club player Isabelle Evans. Image: Sportography
UQ Wheelchair Rugby Club player Isabelle Evans. Image: Sportography
“For the UQ team, there was a mix of players who had never played the sport before, a couple – like myself – who have been around for a while, and some exciting new players who have come out of development squads and been identified as future Australian representatives, like Conor,” Bond said.
“We exceeded all expectations to remain undefeated, which is rare in any sport.
“It was the first time I had coached in an official capacity, and my proudest moment was to see the team play the entire first half of the last game without me, and lead by 11 goals at half time.”
Bond was 19 when he lost both legs below the knees, his left hand and his right fingers to a bacterial infection, while being treated for promyelocytic leukaemia.
He is now one of the world’s leading wheelchair rugby players, and helped Australia win a gold medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.
His career highlight came four year later, when he claimed his second gold medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Australia had set up a mouth-watering gold-medal showdown with the United States and the match is remembered as one of the most exciting in the sport’s history, with Australia winning 59-58 in double-overtime.
Bond represented Australia at his third Paralympics at Tokyo 2020, but missed out on a medal after Australia lost to Japan in the bronze-medal playoff.
Chris Bond celebrates after winning a gold medal (left), and in action (right), at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Image: Buda Mendes/Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images
Chris Bond celebrates after winning a gold medal (left), and in action (right), at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Image: Buda Mendes/Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images
While Bond admits it’s unlikely that he will still be representing Australia in 10 years time, the 36-year-old said the prospect of representing his country in front of a home crowd in Brisbane at the 2032 Paralympic Games was exciting for the next generation.
“Personally, I wish it was a little bit closer – I would love to be part of that as it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said.
“That drawcard for the next generation of wheelchair athletes, coaches, officials and staff in Queensland and Australia is very exciting.
“That anchor point of knowing the Paralympics are coming will get more people playing the sport. We’ve been super successful for a long period and have gained a bit of a profile, so we thought that would eventuate into more people playing – but that hasn’t happened.
“So, with the carrot of a home Paralympics, I’m hoping we will see more people take up the sport because that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day: getting people together.”
Image: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
While Conor is trying not to look too far ahead, he too is excited about seeing Para-sport in the spotlight as Queensland prepares to host the 2032 Paralympics.
But for now, he is pleased to have continued a family tradition of winning titles for the UQ Rugby Club.
Conor become the third generation of the Tweedy family to win a premiership for UQ. His grandfather, Michael Tweedy, was part of the champion Reserve Grade side in 1956, while his father, Sean, won three first-grade premierships with UQ in 1988–90, and went on to play for the Queensland Reds.
Conor Tweedy, with father Sean and brother Seamus, holds a photo of his grandfather's UQ Rugby premiership-winning side. Image: Sportography
Conor Tweedy, with father Sean and brother Seamus, holds a photo of his grandfather's UQ Rugby premiership-winning side. Image: Sportography
Conor’s brother, Seamus, was a member of the UQ Colts 1 premiership-winning side in 2017.
Cousins Joe and Tom Pincus also played for UQ before embarking on their Super Rugby careers.
“I’ve always been a Red Heavies supporter, so It’s really cool to have that family connection to the UQ Rugby Club,” Conor said.
“I didn’t actually know that my grandad had won a premiership, so that’s pretty special.”
UQ is committed to building an accessible and welcoming environment for all students and visitors
Built with Shorthand