Andrew Dawes (coach)

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Andrew Dawes
Personal information
NationalityFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Born (1969-09-30) 30 September 1969 (age 53)
Orange, New South Wales
Sport
Sport Wheelchair racing

Andrew John Dawes OAM is an Australian seven time Paralympic wheelchair coach. He has coached Australian athletes to 19 gold medals at Paralympic Games. Including Louise Sauvage, Kurt Fearnley and Greg Smith. He currently is the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) Wheelchair Track and Road head coach.

Contents

Personal

Dawes was born on 30 September 1969 in Orange, New South Wales. [1] He is married to Paralympic athlete Christie Dawes who he also coaches. [2] [3] They have a son who was born in 2011. [4]

Coaching career

Dawes began his career as a physical education teacher. [5] He went on to become a coach for the Australian wheelchair track and road team at the 1996 Paralympics. [5] In the 1998 IPC World Track and Field Championships, Dawes was named as the national team coach. [6] He has gone on to coach several successful athletes including Louise Sauvage, Greg Smith and Fabian Blattman. [5]

He has attended four successive Summer Paralympics from 2000-2012 as an assistant coach and as a coach. [7] [8] [9] In the 2004 Summer Paralympics Dawes coached Kurt Fearnley to success where he won gold. [10] Additionally, his wife Christie won silver in the 4 × 100 m relay team at the 2008 Summer Paralympics [11] In 2012 three of Dawes' athletes, Christie Dawes, Kurt Fearnley and Rosemary Little, [12] participated in the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Where Christie won bronze, [11] Fearnley won silver and bronze [13] and Little won bronze. [14] Currently, Dawes is the head coach of the NSWIS Wheelchair Track & Road Program. [15]

Recognition

In 2014 Dawes was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to athletics as a wheelchair track and road coach. [16]

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References

  1. "Andrew Dawes". Australian Commonwealth Games Association-Results. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  2. "Congratulations Coaches". Athletics New South Wales. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  3. "Christie Dawes". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  4. Hadgraft, Beverley (9 October 2011). "Overcoming the odds". Body and Soul. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Mannion, Tim. "Paralympic Legend: Andrew Dawes". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  6. "Sporting Programs For People With Disabilities". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  7. "Australian Paralympic Committee MEDIA GUIDE ATHENS 2004" (PDF). Ausport. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  8. "Australian Paralympic Committee Media Guide Beijing 2008" (PDF). ausport. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  9. "AUSTRALIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE MEDIA GUIDE -London 2012 Paralympic Games" (PDF). Australian Paralympic committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  10. Halloran, Jessica. "Wheels turn a dream into golden obsession". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Christie Dawes IPC Profile". IPC. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  12. "Congratulations Coaches". Athletics NSW. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  13. "Kurt Fearnley IPC profile". IPC. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  14. "Rosemary Little IPC Profile". IPC. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  15. "Wheelchair Track and Road". NSWIS. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  16. "Australian Honours". itsanhonour.gov.au. Retrieved 12 April 2015.