Meet the Mackay Paralympic trio taking on Paris

Mackay will be well-represented at the Paris Paralympics later this month with a trio of wheelchair rugby players from the region set to make the trek. Meet them here.

Mackay members of the Australian Steelers Paralympic wheelchair rugby team. (From left): Joshua Nicholson, Shae Graham, Brayden Foxley-Conolly

Mackay athletes will make up a quarter of Australia’s wheelchair rugby team at the upcoming Paralympic Games in Paris.

Brayden Foxley-Conolly, Joshua Nicholson and Shae Graham are set to compete alongside nine other members of the Steelers, who will be out for redemption after a disappointing outcome at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

“It’s really exciting knowing that there’s three of us from Mackay who are going,” Graham said.

“We’re looking forward to going out there and not only representing Australia but also Mackay.”

For his part, Nicholson said it feels like the Games have been “a long time coming.”

“It’s a great opportunity and I’m just excited to have my chance to represent the country,” he said.

Shae Graham representing Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. Picture: Jeff Crow / PA

Graham said the trio have maintained a close relationship through the sport for a several years before their selection for this year’s Paralympics.

“Brayden joined the team in 2022, and Josh has been on the team longer than I have. I’ve known Josh forever it feels like,” Graham said.

“We’re all really great mates, and we’re tight squad as a whole, we train together all the time despite living in different parts of the country and we have that connection to share.”

The Steelers have been a force to be reckoned with since the introduction of wheelchair rugby as a Paralympic sport in 1996, and were back-to-back gold medallists in 2012 and 2016, before a disappointing result at the 2020 Games saw them finish fourth and miss the podium for the first time since 2004.

“Tokyo was obviously a really difficult time with everything that was going on in the world with Covid at that time, we didn’t train together as a team until a week before the actual Games,” Graham said.

Nicholson said he’s prepared to do “whatever it takes” to help Australia back to the top of the podium.

“I’ll be doing everything I can to help the team come away with what we deserve which is a gold medal,” he said.

Brayden Foxley-Conolly. Picture: Supplied

Graham was the only member of the Mackay trio who represented Australia in Tokyo, and in doing so became the first woman to compete for the Steelers at the Paralympics.

“I became the first female to represent Australia in wheelchair rugby in 2019, but since then there’s now two others (Emilie Miller and Ella Sabljak) who are a part of the squad,” she said.

“There’s been a rapid growth there and I’m very proud to have hopefully inspired some other women to take up the sport.”

While it wasn’t the result the team was after three years ago, they’ve bounced back quickly since that disappointment to climb up the rankings back in to top spot after being dropped to fourth after Tokyo.

“We’re confident of being able to take out gold, we’re heading over there with nothing short of that as our goal,” Graham said.

All three players’ selection to compete at the top level comes at a time where Harrup Park is looking to expand its facilities through a Stage 2 plan which would see the venue become capable of hosting sports such as wheelchair rugby where it currently cannot.

“Every city no matter its size needs facilities for people of all abilities to participate in sport, people shouldn’t have to move,” Graham said.

“I’m all for the world being a little bit more accessible and inclusive.”

Nicholson echoed his teammate’s sentiments, saying while he played wheelchair basketball the option to play rugby did not become available until after he had left Mackay.

“It’s good to see these stadiums not only become accessible to the players but to the spectators and the community as a whole,” he said.