Paralympic champion from Morecambe misses out on second wheelchair rugby medal

Morecambe's Paralympic champion has missed out on a bronze medal at the Paris Games after Team GB lost to Australia.

Stuart Robinson was in the Great Britain team who were defeated by the Aussies 50-48 in a tight third place playoff in France on Monday.

It was a disappointing end to a thrilling week for Team GB who were aiming to defend the title they won in Tokyo in 2021.

They put Australia under pressure right until the final whistle, with Robinson running in several late tries, but the deficit was just too much to make up.

Stuart and his team-mates had been beaten in the semi-finals by the USA 50-43 after winning all three of their group games in dramatic fashion, including a win over host nation France. 

The team launched their wheelchair rugby title defence with a superb 58-55 victory over world number ones Australia in front of a capacity crowd in Paris on Thursday with Stuart scoring 23 tries.

Another tight game followed against Denmark in the second Group B pool match, with Britain coming through to take the win 55-53 in a contest that saw Stuart score a game high 26 tries and execute three steals at the Champ-de-Mars Arena.

They then progressed to the semi-finals by edging France 50-49.

USA will now play Japan in the 2024 wheelchair rugby Paralympic final.

Stuart became a world class wheelchair athlete after losing both his legs while serving for the Armed Forces in Afghanistan.

In 2022 he was awarded the MBE by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, at Windsor Castle.

Read more: Interview: Morecambe wheelchair rugby star targets second Paralympic gold - Beyond Radio

Within 12 months of his injuries, he competed at the Games in London in 2014, winning gold.

Since then Stuart won a silver and bronze in subsequent Invictus Games, before graduating to the full Team GB Paralympic squad, winning two European Titles.

He then scored 14 tries in a thrilling final as Great Britain overcame the USA at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.