The Cup featured full squads from Great Britain and Canada, and Graham who was one of three Aussies integrated into teams composed of players from Europe, USA, and South Korea.
Wheelchair rugby is currently a mixed-gender sport at the Paralympic Games, where four women were named to the team squads at Tokyo 2020.
Graham created history when she became the first woman to represent the Australian Steelers at a Paralympic Games at Tokyo and barely a year later, two other female players joined her in the team that won the World Championships.
“Hopefully, a competition like this will encourage and grow female participation wheelchair rugby,” she said.
“Who knows, one day it may lead to more all-women competitions and eventually a women’s world championships.”
Graham insisted the tournament held at Centre Sportif Émile Anthoine in central Paris was a great experience, which allowed her to play in a different team role with players she had never played with before.
“The competition was open to women at all levels of their rugby journey, and I found it really rewarding trying to mentor and play with and against the next generation of international superstars,” she said.
“The competition gave me the opportunity to take on different roles and push myself to improve and grow as a player.”
VIS General Manager High Performance David Madigan was delighted to support what Graham and Steelers Head Coach Brad Dubberley saw as a unique development opportunity.
“She has been such a ground breaker as an athlete and this provided a chance for her to exercise her leadership on the court,” he said.
“To be part of an event that promotes her sport and particularly females in wheelchair rugby is incredible.”
Graham will now spend the next months focusing on the National League in Australia, aiming to be selected for the Asia Oceania Championships in Japan at the end of June.
“I’ll continue training and playing as a hard as I can to hopefully earn a spot on the Steelers team going to Japan.”
Image Credit: Melanie Butez
