Michael Tucker

Michael Tucker competed at both the 1976 and 1980 Olympics in basketball. He was named to the Australian National Team in 1975, helping them win the Oceania Qualifying Tournament for the Olympics that year. He had a short career, hampered by knee injuries and a life-threatening blood clot. He was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome as a teen and advised not to play basketball, because of its risk, but continued to do so, stating that he loved the game too much.

Tucker went into coaching, becoming the head coach of the Australian men’s wheelchair team, and leading them through 1995. He helped them to a fifth-place finish at the 1990 World Cup, eighth place at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics, and sixth place at the 1994 World Championships.