Chris Bond out to continue peerless major tournament record as Aussies eye wheelchair rugby success
IF you want to win gold medals at world titles and Paralympics, Chris Bond is your man. In an extraordinary record, the 34-year-old Aussie has never lost a major game at a major tournament in wheelchair rugby.
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IF you want to win gold medals at world titles and Paralympics, Chris Bond is your man.
In an extraordinary record, the 34-year-old Aussie has never lost a major game at a major tournament in wheelchair rugby.
And the plan is to keep that record intact at the upcoming world championships in Sydney.
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With a Tokyo Olympic berth on the line for the winner, the championship is high stakes for the Steelers.
“In my everyday life I’m not that lucky,” said the Steelers target who is often triple teamed to nullify his scoring potency.
“With the Steelers I have enjoyed a lot of success and it’s just great to have a world championship win my own backward as I look to the finish line after 2020.
“Having it here adds an intensity. There is an expectation on us. We are already ranked No.1 and our supporters are used to us winning.
“So people expect us to do well here.”
But were it not for a chance meeting with national coach Brad Dubberley, Bond might not have become one of Australia’s most successful athletes.
Bond was told by doctors swimming was the best sport for him after he was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2005. He then contracted a flesh-eating bacterium which developed into gangrene and saw him lose both his legs below the knees, his left hand and four fingers on his right.
“It wasn’t the best combination to have. I’m lucky to be alive,” he said.
“I grew up playing rugby league and every other sport under the sun.
“I was dying to get back into sport after my rehabilitation and was told the best sport for me was swimming, but I wasn’t enjoying it or those cold winter morning when we trained.
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“Then I ran into the coach and assistant and they thought I might be eligible for rugby and I went to a camp in 2010 to watch them play.
“The coach put me in a chair and told me to go and hit this guy as hard as I could. I did, he laughed, and a year later I was on the team.”
A year later Bond was part of Australia’s first Paralympic gold medal winning team at the 2012 London Olympics and then in the first side in wheelchair rugby history to win consecutive Paralympic gold medals with success in Rio along with a world crown.
The Wheelchair Rugby World Championship kicks off at Sydney Olympic Park from Sunday with the Steelers facing New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and Japan prior to the semi-finals.