MUTWARE Blaise

Wheelchair Basketball

Date of Birth: 14 May 1994

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Sport Class: 3.5

Birth Country:

Rwanda

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Wheelchair Basketball	Men CAN Canada	8

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Ariake Arena	Men's Preliminary Round Group A #09 CAN Canada 41 ESP Spain 78	Finished
	Musashino Forest Sport Plaza	Men's Preliminary Round Group A #17 TUR Turkey 77 CAN Canada 73	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Men's Preliminary Round Group A #32 JPN Japan 62 CAN Canada 56	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Men's Preliminary Round Group A #43 CAN Canada 74 KOR Republic of Korea 64	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Men's Preliminary Round Group A #46 COL Colombia 52 CAN Canada 63	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Men's Quarterfinal #60 GBR Great Britain 66 CAN Canada 52	Finished
	Ariake Arena	Men's Classification Playoff 7/8 #65 GER Germany 68 CAN Canada 56	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Cooking, writing music, trading stocks. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Sep 2019, 28 Sep 2020)

Occupation:

Culinary Studies

Matteo Feriani [national], ITA

He took up wheelchair basketball at Variety Village Rebels in Toronto, ON, Canada, in 2015, six months after his accident. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Sep 2019, 28 Sep 2020)

"My [recreational] therapist was able to contact one of the local wheelchair basketball coaches and said, 'There's a potential athlete who's interested in playing'. I checked it out, pretty much learned the sport first-hand and had a lot of fun doing so even though I didn't know much about it. Even though my first day was not really successful, I really enjoyed the pace of the game and I felt whole again. I felt like I didn't have an injury at the time. It was the first time I did not feel injured. I love how I can be active and not feel limited in my abilities to play sports. I love how intense and aggressive the game is." (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Sep 2019; csiontario.ca, 06 Apr 2021; toronto.com, 07 Jun 2019)

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 28 Sep 2020)

General Interest

Classification
3.5 (IWBF, 16 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Spinal Cord Injuries (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 28 Sep 2020)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Sep 2019)

Impairment Details
At age 20 he was shot five times in the spine and legs during a robbery. "I was a 20-year-old male with a lot of pride and tried to be aggressive and retain what they were trying to rob from me, and one of them ended up shooting me five times in the spine and legs." (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Sep 2019, 28 Sep 2020; toronto.com, 07 Jun 2019)

General
OCCUPATION
He has worked as a chef. "When you work at a restaurant, it's very team-like. Communication is key because you want to make sure that the team is on the same page." (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Sep 2019; csiontario.ca, 06 Apr 2021)

HERATIGE
Born in Hindiro, Rwanda, he spent time living in South Africa and Zimbabwe before moving to Toronto, ON, Canada, at age 13. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Sep 2019)

FURTHER STUDIES
In 2020 he began studying for a bachelor's degree in business at the University of Arizona in the United States of America as part of a basketball scholarship. "Arizona saw me play a little bit and I guess they saw potential in me. I thought it was a great opportunity to experience something different. I feel like I'm still at that young age where I can take risks and I felt like going to school would be a risk. I was never really good at school, but I wanted to give this opportunity a chance and see how I can grow both in basketball and in life." (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Sep 2019, 28 Sep 2020)

NEW LIFE THROUGH SPORT
He says wheelchair basketball helped him deal with his impairment after doctors told him he would not be able to walk again. "At the time [of the accident], I felt I had a lot going for myself. I felt my life was headed in the right direction. At the time, it just put everything into a halt and I really did not know what to do. Basketball really helped me get out of this slump, because I did get into a little bit of depression stuff and basketball really helped me forget everything outside the sport and made me live in the moment. I really enjoy wheelchair basketball so much that I kind of looked at my accident as almost a blessing in disguise." (toronto.com, 07 Jun 2019)

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos