A 77-year-old Sunshine Coast veteran basketballer is set to represent Australia on the international stage.
Mooloolaba resident Murray Browne was selected for the Australian men’s over-75 team for the 13th European Maxibasketball Championship in Athens, Greece, which runs from June 26 to July 5.
The tournament, organised by the Federation of International Maxibasketball Associations (FIMBA), is expected to attract hundreds of teams and thousands of athletes from around the world across age divisions ranging from 30-plus to 85-plus.
Mr Browne was heavily involved in rugby league, swimming, athletics and cricket during his school years. His introduction to international football was when he represented Wide Bay against touring Great Britain sides in 1970.
He didn’t start playing basketball in earnest until he entered the Australian Masters in the early 1990s in the over-45 division. He has continued competing in the Masters ever since.
The 2026 Australian squad is made up of players from around the country brought together through the Masters basketball network, with many having competed against one another for decades.
Mr Browne was part of a gold medal-winning team at the 2024 Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast.
He said the victory was particularly satisfying because his side defeated Melbourne-based Mr Legends, a team that had built a formidable reputation over many years of competition.
More recently, Mr Browne added another gold medal to his collection at the Australian Masters Games in Canberra, continuing a remarkable run of success more than three decades after first entering the over-45 division.
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Despite the medals, Mr Browne insisted the friendships and camaraderie remained the biggest drawcard.
“We’re a bunch of people from all over the place that just do it to keep fit and for the camaraderie,” he said.
Staying active and enjoying the game matters more than results and it’s this philosophy that has also shaped his approach to health and fitness.
Rather than intense training regimes, Mr Browne advocates simple daily movement.
“Just get up and walk,” he said.
“When you’re walking, you might find there’s a tree with an overhanging branch. Grab hold of that. That’s stretching.
“You don’t have to go and do all this stuff at the gym.”
He credits a lifetime of activity, a strong core and a commitment to keeping moving for helping him continue playing into his late 70s.
“It’s so simple to do something,” he said.
“So many people get to an age and think they’ve done everything, but you haven’t. Just get up and do something.”
