 2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 28 September 1971 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Shooting | |||||||||||||||||
| Club | Kalamunda Small Bore | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Anton Zappelli (born 28 September 1971) is an Australian Paralympic shooter. He represented Australia in the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and has been selected for the 2024 Paris Paralympics. [1] [2]
Zappelli was born on 28 September 1971 in Mullewa, Western Australia. [3] At the age of 17, in March 1989, he was involved in a car accident that left him a paraplegic T12 complete. [3] [4] His girlfriend who did not have a licence lost control of the vehicle. His two younger sisters were also in the car. [4] Prior to the accident, he was an apprentice boiler maker at Monodelphous Engineering Kalgoorlie. [5] He has studied jewellery design and manufacturing. [4] He was a roadie for five years with the band The Waifs. He is employed as a disability support officer with Rocky Bay. [6] In 2010, Zappelli with two paraplegics Jim Cairns and Terry Mader and quadriplegic Craig Parsons embarked on a 5000 km tour of the Australian outback to visit the sites of their motor vehicles accidents. [4] Their tour was captured in the award-winning documentary, The Ride. [4] Zappelli is a strong supporter of road safety. He is married with twin boys and girl. [3]
Prior to his accident, he was a well regarded junior golfer. [4] After the accident he took up wheelchair road racing. [4] He took up shooting in 2011 and is classified as a SH1. [3] He is a member of the Kalamunda Small Bore Club. [3] Zappelli made his World Championship debut in 2014, finishing 13th in the 10m Air Rifle Prone. In 2015, at the IPC World Cup, he won the bronze medal in the 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 and this resulted in Australia securing six quota places for the 2016 Rio Paralympics. At the 2016 IPC World Cup in Al Ain, UAE, Zappelli combined with Natalie Smith and Libby Kosmala to win the bronze medal R3 10m Air Rifle Mixed team event. [7] In 2016, he competed in the Rio Paralympics where he placed 18th in the Mixed 10 metre air rifle prone SH1 and placed 36th in the Mixed 50 metre rifle prone SH1. [8]
Zappelli with Natalie Smith and Glen McMurtrie won the silver medal in the Team R3 - Mixed 10m Air Rifle prone SH1 at the 2018 World Shooting Para Sport Championships, Cheongju, South Korea.
At the 2019 World Para-sport Shooting Championships in Sydney, he won his first world championship medal with silver in the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1. [9]
At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, he finished 15th in the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 and 11th in the Mixed 50m Air Rifle Prone SH1.
Paralympic shooting, also known as shooting Para sport, is an adaptation of shooting sports for competitors with disabilities. Shooting is a test of accuracy and control, in which competitors use pistols or rifles to fire a series of shots at a stationary target. Each shot is worth a maximum score of 10.9 points. Athletes use .22 caliber rifles, pistols and .177 caliber air guns. Paralympic shooting first appeared in the Summer Paralympics at the 1976 Toronto Games.
Ashley Phillip Adams was an Australian Paralympic shooting medallist and cattle grazier.
Luke Cain is an SH2-classified Australian shooter who became a paraplegic after an accident while playing Australian rules football. He started competing in 2007, as the sport suited his disability, and has been a Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship holder since 2008. He first represented Australia internationally in 2009 at a World Cup event in South Korea. He has also represented Australia in two Paralympic Games including the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Bradley Mark is a New Zealand born Australian shooter who has represented Australia in two Paralympic Games.
Natalie Smith is an Australian Paralympic shooter. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, she won a bronze medal. She also represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and has been bee selected for 2024 Paris Paralympics.
France competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. The first places the team qualified were for four athletes in sailing events.
Germany competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. The first places the team qualified were for four athletes in sailing events. They also qualified athletes in archery, cycling, equestrian, paracanoeing, paratriathlon, rowing and wheelchair basketball.
Italy competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. The first places the team qualified were for three athletes in sailing events. Martina Caironi has been chosen to carry the nation's flag at the opening ceremony.
Thailand competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.
Veronika Vadovičová is a Slovak Paralympic shooter. In 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, she won gold medalint the 10 meter SH1. She competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, winning two gold medals and a silver medal. She competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, in Mixed R6 50 metre rifle prone SH1, winning a gold medal.
China has qualified to send athletes to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. Sports China competed in include blind football, archery, boccia, cycling, goalball, judo, paracanoeing, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball.
Turkey has qualified to send athletes to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. Sports the country qualified to compete in include 5-a-side football, archery, goalball, and wheelchair basketball.
South Korea competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016.
Slovakia competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016.
Christopher Pitt is an Australian Paralympic shooter. He has represented Australia in the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Çağla Baş Atakal, aka Çağla Atakal, is a Turkish female paralympic shooter competing in the air rifle events. She qualified to represent Turkey at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Baş also plays on a wheelchair basketball team at a national level.
Suzan Çevik is a Turkish female paralympic shooter competing in the rifle events. She took part at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China and 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Hakan Çevik is a Turkish male paralympic shooter competing in the rifle events. He took part at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
Qualification for shooting at the 2020 Summer Paralympics begins from 1 January 2019 to 21 June 2021. There were three events for male and female sports shooters and seven mixed events. There were a total of 154 athlete quotas.
Franc Pinter was a Slovenian sport shooter from Slovenska Bistrica who has won several medals at the Paralympic Games.
