Tina McKenzie

Tina McKenzie (born 8 June 1974) is an Australian wheelchair basketball player. She participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, where she won a silver medal; in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal; and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a second silver medal. After becoming an incomplete paraplegic as a result of a fall from a building in 1994, she took up wheelchair tennis and later wheelchair basketball. She joined the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team, known as the Gliders, in 1999, and played her first international match at the 2002 World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Japan. She has over 100 international caps.

Personal life McKenzie was born in Albury, New South Wales, on 8 June 1974. She had a brother who died at the age of 19 in 1997.

She has a Bachelor of Education degree from Macquarie University,

Wheelchair basketball McKenzie is a 3 point player, She took up wheelchair tennis while in rehabilitation at Royal Talbot. Her tennis team entered a basketball competition in 1997 for fun during the off season. a scheme which provides direct financial support to elite athletes. She received $5,200 in 2008/9, $5,571 in 2009/10 and $8,000 in 2010/11. In 2012, she had a scholarship with the New South Wales Institute of Sport. Macquarie University awarded her the Chancellor's Award for academic and sporting excellence in 2005 and 2006, and a university full blue in 2008.

Club In 2000 and 2001, she played for the Whittlesea City Pacers in the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL). In 2008 and 2009, she played for the Dandenong Rangers. In the second round of the 2008 season, the Dandenong Rangers defeated the Western Stars 53–47. Despite fouling out late in the game, she scored 21 points in her team's victory. In 2010, she played for St Peters and the Wenty Leagues Wheelkings, After moving to Melbourne, McKenzie began playing for Victoria in 2014. The team became the Kilsyth Cobras in 2015, with McKenzie on the roster.

National team

McKenzie has over 100 international caps with the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team, She was then selected to play at the 2002World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Japan, She was selected to participate in a national team training camp in 2010, and captained the team at the Osaka Cup and the World Championships that year. In July, she played in a three-game test series against Germany.

Paralympics

McKenzie was part of the silver medal-winning team at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, and the bronze medal-winning team at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. The second was in her team's quarterfinal 62–37 victory over Mexico women's national wheelchair basketball team, in which she played for 10 minutes 47 seconds. She was awarded a silver medal after her team was defeated by Germany in the final.

Retirement In December 2012, McKenzie officially announced her retirement. After thanking various people, she concluded her remarks by saying: "I will always be proud to call myself a Glider."