Jannik Blair

Jannik Blair (born 3 February 1992) is a 1 point wheelchair basketball player who has played for the University of Missouri and the National Wheelchair Basketball League Dandenong Rangers. He is a member of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team, making his debut in 2009, and was member of the Australian team that won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in wheelchair basketball.

Jannik Blair
Blair warming up before a game in Sydney
Personal information
Nationality Australia
Born (1992-02-03) 3 February 1992
Horsham, Victoria
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportWheelchair basketball
College teamThe University of Alabama
Achievements and titles
National finals
Medal record
Wheelchair basketball
Paralympic Games
2012 London Men's wheelchair basketball
World Championships
2014 Incheon Team
2018 HamburgTeam

Personal
Blair at the 2012 London Paralympics

Blair was born on 3 February 1992 in Horsham, Victoria.[1][2] In 2004 at the age of the twelve, he broke his back, wrist and suffered a collapsed lung after an accident on a utility vehicle. He went into a coma for a week. As of 2012 he lives in Horsham in Victoria.[1] By 2005, he was playing a variety of sports including wheelchair basketball, track racing and hand-cycling.[1] As of 2012, he attended the University of Missouri on partial scholarship for wheelchair basketball,[1][3][4] but was taking time off to concentrate on basketball.[5]

Wheelchair basketball
Blair at the 2012 London Paralympics

Blair is a 1 point wheelchair basketball player.[1] As of 2012, he has a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport.[6]

Blair first played wheelchair basketball in 2005, and attended a Ballarat, Victoria hosted APC Paralympic Talent Search in 2006. At the event, they encouraged him to continue in the sport.[1]

Blair played in the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) in 2009, finishing the season by being named to the All-Star 5.[2] As of 2012, he plays for the Dandenong Rangers in the NWBL, and joined for and was playing for University of Missouri team in the United States National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) as of 2012.[1][7] In late 2012, Blair was presented with offers several offers from American universities, including the University of Missouri, Columbia, and the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. After much consideration, Blair chose to take up a scholarship from the University of Alabama. He will dress for them in the Spring season of 2013.

Blair made his national team debut in 2009 at the Asia Oceania Wheelchair Basketball Championships where he averaged 0.3 points per game.[1][2] Later that year, he competed in the Rollers World Challenge,[1] and the IWBF U23 World Championship where his team finished fourth.[2] At the 2011 Wheelchair Tri Series where he played in games against South Africa and the Netherlands,[5] he averaged 0.8 points per game.[2] In August of that year, he also competed in the International Tournament of Champions.[5] In October 2011, he participated in a national team training camp in Canberra.[5] He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in wheelchair basketball.[1][8][9] The Games were his first.[8] Going into the London Paralympics, his team was ranked number one in the world.[10] He had to earn his spot as fourteen men had been vying for spots on the team.[11]

At the 2012 Summer Paralympics he was part of the Australian men's wheelchair team that won silver.[12] He was a member of the Rollers team that won the gold medal at the 2014 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships.[13] In 2016, he was selected for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro,[14] where his team, the Rollers, finished sixth.[15]

In 2018, he was a member of the Rollers that won the bronze medal at 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Hamburg, Germany. [16]

References
  1. "Jannik Blair". Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  2. "Basketball Australia : Jannik Blair". Basketball.net.au. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  3. Ward, Roy (27 January 2010). "Blair eyes US college basketball scholarship". Wimmera Mail Times. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  4. Mccullagh, Justine (12 January 2011). "Jannik rolls into college life". Wimmera Mail Times. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  5. Rogers, Leigh (21 October 2011). "Jannik Blair one step closer to London Paralympic Games". Wimmera Mail Times. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  6. "Victorian Athletes Selected for London Olympics and Paralympics". VicSport. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  7. Sheirer, Jamie (14 December 2010). "Jannik Blair of the MU wheelchair basketball team". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  8. "Rolling on to London for our Paralympic stars". News.com.au.
  9. "Games wheelchair basketball squads named". localtoday.com.au. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  10. "Financial Review — News Store". Fairfax. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  11. "Financial Review — News Store". Fairfax. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  12. "Men's Wheelchair Basketball Results". London 2012 Paralympic Games. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  13. "Rollers are back to back World Champions". Australian Paralympic Committee News, 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  14. "Australian Rollers ready for Rio 2016 revenge". Australian Paralympic Committee. 19 July 2016. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  15. "Hosts shock Rollers to end Rio campaign". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  16. "Rollers earn bronze at the 2018 World Championships". Basketball Australia website. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
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