Bridie Kean

Dr. Bridie Kean (born 27 February 1987) is an Australian wheelchair basketball player and canoeist. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, and a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. In 2016, she became a va'a world champion.

Personal life Dr. Kean was born 27 February 1987. When she was two, her feet were amputated due to meningococcal septicaemia.

Kean did a gap year in England in 2005. She became the manager of its Sports Elite and Education Dual (SEED) program, which enabled elite athletes with a disability to combine study with high performance training and competition, in 2016. In 2024, she is a Lecturer, Public Health at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Bridie is engaged to long-term partner and fellow Paralympian Chris Bond. The couple had their first child in late 2019.

Kean is one of three Assistant Chef de Missions for the Australian team at the 2024 Summer Paralympics. In May 2024, she was appointed to the Australian Sports Commission Board.

Wheelchair basketball When she was 15, Kean was encouraged to take up wheelchair basketball by Liesl Tesch. She was invited to a training camp, A 4 point player, she plays as a forward.

University Kean had a wheelchair basketball scholarship with the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign that ended in 2010.

Club Kean made her Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) debut in 2007. In September 2012, she played for Hamburger SV, which returned to Germany's top league after a two-season absence. Hamburger SV won the national championship for the eighth time in 2013. In 2014 she returned to Australia, where she spearheaded the Minecraft Comets to their first ever national title win,

National team

She made her national team debut in 2007 when she competed in the IWBF Qualification tournament. In July 2010, she played in a three-game test series against Germany. In 2010, she was a member of the team that played in the Osaka Cup. She represented Australia at the 2010 World Championships where her team finished fourth. at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Her team defeated Canada 53–47 in earning their medal. She said of her team's 2008 performance, "We worked together as a team really well and our medal is a credit to a lot of hard work and dedication." She was the captain of the Gliders at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. In the gold medal game against Germany, she played 13:02 minutes. Her team lost 44–58, but earned a silver medal. She scored 1 point and had four rebounds in the game.