Lee James Schraner (born 1982) is a lawn bowls World Singles Champion of Champions gold and dual bronze medalist.[1] He became the number one ranked bowler in Australia in October 2018 and held the ranking until June 2019.[2]

Lee Schraner
Personal information
Born (1982-01-31) 31 January 1982 (age 42)
Prahran, Victoria, Australia
Years active1994–present
Sport
SportLawn Bowls
ClubRaymond Terrace Bowling Club
Medal record
Bowls
Representing  Australia
World Singles Champion of Champions
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Sydney Men's
Gold medal – first place 2019 Adelaide Men's
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Wellington Men's

Bowls career

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Schraner began bowls in 1994 at Mount Cottrell Bowling Club, located on the outskirts of Melton, Victoria.[3] He won the 2019 World Singles Champion of Champions, beating Tony Cheung in the final.[4]

Australian representation

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Schraner represented Australia at Under 25 level and Open Men's Level on numerous occasions, but yielded only one official cap for his Country. He became the 132nd male to represent Australia in Lawn Bowls when he led in the pairs for Mark Jacobsen against England, in the "Battle on the Border" at Moama Bowling Club in February 2010.

Schraner was omitted from the Australian Squad that same year, prior to the Delhi Commonwealth Games. In July 2018 he was named in the Australian Jackaroos Emerging Squad (the tier below the Open squad), but after just one year, he was omitted in June 2019.

At age 37, he retired from official National duties stating "It is a great thing to chase your dreams but life is too short to chase them forever", clearly related to his lack of opportunity at the highest level.[5]

Schraner made himself available for the Australian team again in 2024 after a string of successful results, and was selected in the Australian Jackaroos Squad of 10 men for the 2024/25 season.

Championships - National and State

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Schraner is the only player in history, male or female, to have won the Australian Champion of Champions Singles Gold Medal four times.[6] These victories came in 2017 in Darwin, 2018 in Hobart, 2022 (for the 2021 event) on the Gold Coast and 2023 in Perth. He won the Australian Open Pairs in 2011,[7] the Australian Fours Gold Medal in 2019[8] and the Australian Pairs Gold Medal in 2020.[9]

Published Author

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Published Stories & Books released by Lee Schraner
Title Year Comments
Nothing to Prove[10] 2024 Autobiography
In the Zone - Developing Mental Toughness in Lawn Bowls[11] 2014 Non-fiction and educational
In the Zone II - Secrets of a World Champ[12] 2020 Non-fiction and educational

References

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  1. ^ "Star recruit Lee Schraner settling in with new club Bendigo East". Bendigo Advertiser. 9 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Latest National Rankings for October released". Bowls Australia. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Mt Cottrell Bowls Club". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  4. ^ "World Singles Champion of Champions, Adelaide Bowling Club, South Australia". World Bowls.
  5. ^ "Schraner calls time on Jackaroos career". Bowls Australia. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Krizanic, Schraner claim 2021 Australian Champion of Champions title". Bowls Australia. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Honour roll". Australian Open. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  8. ^ "2019 Australian Championships: Nail-biters aplenty in Fours titles". Bowls Australia. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Victoria & NSW share pairs honours at Aus Champs". Bowls Australia. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Nothing to Prove - The Autobiography of Lee James Schraner". Amazon.
  11. ^ "In the Zone - Developing Mental Toughness in Lawn Bowls". Amazon.
  12. ^ Schraner, Lee J. In the Zone II: Secrets of a World Champ.