Annabelle Lindsay (born 10 February 1998) is a 4.5 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She made her international debut with the Australian women's national wheelchair basketball team (the Gliders) at the Osaka Cup in February 2017. In May 2019, she was part of the U25 National team (the Devils) that won silver at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Suphanburi, Thailand.
.jpg) Playing for the Sydney University Flames at the Kilsyth Sports Centre in Melbourne | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 10 February 1998 | |||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | |||||||||||
| Sport | Wheelchair basketball | |||||||||||
| Position | Forward | |||||||||||
| Disability class | 4.5 | |||||||||||
| Event | Women's team | |||||||||||
| College team | University of Texas at Arlington | |||||||||||
| Club | Sydney University Flames | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography
editFrom 2009 to 2015, Lindsay represented the ACT State Team in the Australian National Championships in her age division, and was co-captain of the Under 14 and Under 16 teams.[1][2][3] She played for the Canberra Capitals Academy team in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL),[4][5] winning the team's Rising Star award for 2014,[6] and dreamt of one day playing in the WNBA. In 2016, she was awarded a basketball scholarship to play and study at Minot State University in North Dakota in the United States. Her plans unravelled in April 2016, when she suffered a dislocated right knee, and underwent arthroscopy surgery.[3] She was told that she would be playing again in four months,[7] but her knee did not heal as expected after the surgery, leaving her with little cartilage in it, and signs of osteoarthritis. An MRI indicated that she would not be able to play sports like basketball. She attempted a comeback anyway, but this only worsened her knee. She relinquished her scholarship, and took a gap year in which she was a coach for Aussie Hoops, Basketball Australia's program for 5 to 10 year old players, and Basketball ACT's Sporting Schools programs.[3][8]
In May 2016, a friend sent Lindsay information about the Canberra Chargers, the local wheelchair basketball team. This is a mixed-gender team, open to players with and without disabilities. Playing for the Chargers brought an invitation to play for the Sydney University Flames in the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL). "I'm playing with an awesome and very talented group of girls who I am able to learn a lot from," she noted, "It's a great experience to be able to play against athletes who I've watched on television playing for the Gliders".[3] That year she was named the WNWBL's Best New Talent.[9]
In January 2017, Lindsay was named to the Gliders team for the Osaka Cup in Japan.[10] In May 2017, she was selected in the Gliders team to play in the World Super Cup in Germany and the Netherlands, and the Continental Clash with Germany, Japan and Great Britain.[11] In October 2017, she played in the 2017 IWBF Asia-Oceania Championships, racking up 27 points and 10 rebounds in her first game, against Iran.[12] She was part of the Gliders line up at the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in August 2018,[13] and in May 2019 won a silver medal with the U25 Women's side, known as the Devils, at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Suphanburi, Thailand.[14][15]
Lindsay studied Physical Education, teaching at the University of Canberra,[3] and was awarded a sports scholarship for wheelchair basketball under the ACT government's Individual Athlete Program.[16] A sympathetic Minot State University offered her a coaching scholarship for a master's degree,[3] but in October 2017, she was awarded a four-year scholarship to play college wheelchair basketball for the Lady Movin' Mavs at the University of Texas at Arlington, commencing in January 2018. She was their first international wheelchair basketball player.[17] On 17 March 2018, the Movin' Mavs capped off an undefeated season by beating their arch-rivals, the University of Alabama 65–55 to win the national championship.[18] On 16 March 2019, the Movin' Mavs once again faced the University of Alabama in the final, but this time fell short, losing 87–76 in extra time.[19]
In July 2020 she was one of nine paralympic athletes forced into retirement after the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation was forced to align its eligibility criteria with that of the International Paralympic Committee.[20][21]
References
edit- ^ Annabelle Lindsay – Australian National Schools Championships 2014 Highlights on YouTube
- ^ Annabelle Lindsay – National Basketball Championships Highlights on YouTube
- ^ a b c d e f Connell, Mirella (18 July 2016). "Annabelle Lindsay: The Transition to Wheelchair Basketball". Basketball ACT. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ "2015 Season Preview – Canberra". South East Australian Basketball League. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ "Annabelle Lindsay Basketball Player Profile, Canberra Capitals Academy, News, State League stats, Career, Games Logs, Bests, Awards". Australia Basket. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ "Basketball ACT Annual Report 2013/14". Basketball ACT. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ Helmers, Caden (16 September 2017). "Canberra's Annabelle Lindsay eyes Paralympic Games in wheelchair basketball". Canberra Times. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ "Vicinity Centres Aussie Hoops". Basketball Australia. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ "2016 WNWBL Award Winners". Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ "Australian Gliders Headed to First International Tournament Under New Coach David Gould". Basketball Australia. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ "Gliders Headed Overseas for Two International Tournaments". Basketball Australia. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ^ "Men's quarter-finals & Women's semi-finals decided 2017 AOZ Champs". International Wheelchair Basketball Federation. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ "Sport - ZaDonk". Rollstuhlbasketball Weltmeisterschaft 2018. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ "USA crowned 2019 Women's U25 World Champions". 2019 Women's U25 World Championships. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Australia". 2019 Women's U25 World Championships. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "Individual Athlete Program". Active ACT. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ "Lindsay to become UT Arlington's first international wheelchair basketballer". CBR 2 USA. 6 October 2017. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ Mody, Abhijit (17 March 2018). "Lady Movin' Mavs claim national title". The Shorthorn. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ Coyle, Robert (16 March 2019). "Lady Movin' Mavs lose national championship final in overtime thriller". The Shorthorn. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ Bradshaw, Aggie (31 July 2020). "Paralympics: Australian wheelchair basketball star Annabelle Lindsay's disability deemed non-eligible under new rules, Tokyo 2021". Wide World of Sports. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ Bertoldo, Lucie (31 July 2020). "Wheelchair basketballer Annabelle Lindsay forced into retirement under new IWBF rules". Canberra Times. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
