Australia was the host nation for the 2000 Summer Paralympics which was held in Sydney. Australia competed in the games between 18 and 29 October.[1] The team consisted of 285 athletes in 18 sports with 148 officials. It was the country's largest ever Paralympic delegation to a Games. Australia has participated at every Summer Paralympic Games since its inception. Australia finished at the top of the medal tally with 63 gold, 39 silver and 47 bronze medals to total 149 medals for the games. This was the first time and the only time to date that Australia has finished on top of either an Olympic or Paralympic medal tally.[2]
The most successful sports were athletics, cycling, equestrian, swimming and wheelchair tennis. As one of the sporting events, sailing involved the implementation of forecasting systems and services in Sydney Harbour, in addition to the recruitment of professionals to design the project’s plans and processes.[3] This occurred in order to fulfil the requirements of both event organisers, competitors and visitors.[3]
Notable Australian performances were:
Siobhan Paton won six gold medals in S14 swimming events and set six world records
Timothy Sullivan won five gold medals and set five world records in athletics
Neil Fuller, a leg amputee sprinter, won four gold medals and one bronze medal and was flag bearer at the closing ceremony
Lisa Llorens won three gold medals and one silver medal in athletics
Greg Smith in wheelchair athletics events won three gold medals
Ultimately, this event has historically influenced The Australian Paralympic Movement and has present impacts on the social development of the Australian nation and its disabled community.[5] Noting the access and disability challenges experienced prior to and during the Games, the outcomes of central organisational bodies responsible for devising and executing plans associated with this have been reviewed.[6] Following the announcement of Sydney being the host city for the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games on 23 September 1993, the NSW Government established central organisations and bodies to distribute the workload, responsibilities and eventually, allocated funding based on this.[7]
The games were the eleventh Summer Paralympics since its commencement in 1960. The opening ceremony took place on 18 October, followed by eleven days of intense competition. As the hosting nation, Sydney implemented a number of conservation and environmental education actions. The dedication to water saving techniques during both the Olympic and Paralympic games led to praise from the International Paralympic Committee.[8] Many held the organization of the games in high esteem. This success was attributed to the coordination between the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee and the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games.[9]
The Mascot for the games was 'Lizzie' the frill-neck lizard, a well-known Australian animal. The voice for 'Lizzie' was Olivia Newton-John, singer and actor.[10] 'Lizzie' was well marketed and considered a successful iconic representation of the Sydney Paralympic games.[11]
Australia topped the medal count for the first time in games history, with a total of 149 medals. Notable performances from the Australian team include Siobhan Paton (swimming) with six gold medals, Tim Sullivan (track and field) with five gold medals and Matthew Gray (cycling) with two gold medals.[12]
Background
Several Australian venues were used to host the Sydney 2000 Paralympic games. Listed below are the main locations and a brief description of the events at each:
Huge crowds were drawn to these locations, namely some 340 000 school children. Schools were provided with free day tickets for students to attend, promoting the major schools education project which ran alongside the games. The Sydney Olympic Games Organising Committee (SOCOG) and the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee (SPOC) held an administrative and organisational partnership to deliver three months of festivals including the Olympic Games, Paralympics Games and cultural festival. This partnership alleviated transitional issues present at the 1996 Atlanta games, due to cross involvement between the committees at all events.[13]
The Prime Minister at the time, Mr John Howard wished the team good luck and said:
"Their gold medal tally at Atlanta was second only and our team in Sydney next year will be the largest and strongest ever."[14]
Howard mentioned during his speech that the government has provided the athletes with A$5.5 million to prepare for the games.[14] The Australian Paralympic team launch took place during Paralympic Week. There were a number of other events prior to the commencement of the games including the launch of the formal uniforms at the museum of contemporary art and the Nike launch where both Olympic and Paralympic athletes modelled side by side.[15]
Team
Paul Bird
There were 285 athletes participating in 18 sports.[15] The Australian team had the largest number of athletes with an intellectual disability, a total of 30.[16]Brendan Burkett, Australian Paralympic swimmer was the opening ceremony flag bearer and Neil Fuller, Australian Paralympic athletics medalist was the closing ceremony flag bearer.[15] Australian athlete Louise Sauvage lit the Paralympic Cauldron at the opening ceremony.[16]
The Chef de Mission was Paul Bird, a Paralympic medalist in 1980 and 1984. He was supported by four assistant Chef de Missions; Keith Gilbert, Greg Campbell, Tony Naar and Robyn Smith.[17]
211000 - Athletics wheelchair racing 10km heat John Maclean action 2 - 3b - 2000 Sydney race photoAustralian track athletes Katrina Webb (left) and Alison Quinn (right), seen from behind with the Australian flag, celebrate with the crowd over their medal wins in the 100m T38 at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. Quinn won gold and Webb won silver in this event.
Coaches – Chris Nunn (Head), Di Barnes, Andrew Dawes, Scott Goodman, Brett Jones, Peter Negropontis, Lorraine Feddema, Robyn Hanson, Phil Badman, Rob Gorringe
Officials – Jason Hellwig (Manager), Hayden Clark, Barb Denson, Petrina Tierney, Jodie Worrall, Allyson Richards, Bill Hunter, Rick Cooke
Australia finished the number one country in athletics with 35 gold, 15 silver and 16 bronze medals. This was Australia's best performance in athletics at the Paralympics. Team highlights included: Timothy Sullivan's five gold medals, Greg Smith's five gold medals, Neil Fuller's four gold medals and one bronze medal, Lisa Llorens's three gold medals and one silver medal and Lisa McIntosh's three gold medals. Australia also won four relay gold medals.[4][18][19]
Controversy
Well known Australian team member and opening ceremony cauldron lighter Louise Sauvage was a participant in the 800 meters T54 event. The race was interrupted by a crash around the 200m mark, leaving three competitors unable to finish. Race leaders Sauvage and Canadian rival Chantal Petitclerc were uninterrupted by the incident, with Petitclerc finishing first, followed by Sauvage in second. Video footage was reviewed by race referee Reg Brandis, and it was determined the competitors involved in the crash were significantly disadvantaged in their opportunity to win a medal. Two hours after the event a re-race was ordered after the final result was declared void. Andrew Dawes, coach of Sauvauge was quoted as saying,
"If she comes out and wins, people will say that she got a second bit at the cherry. And if she loses, she has lost twice."[16]
In later events, Sauvage went on to win gold in the 1500m and 5000m, beating her rival Petitclerc.[16]
Basketball (Intellectual Disability)
Australian ID basketball player Nicholas Maroney shoots the ball during competition at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics
Frank Arratia, Lee Collins, Tim Devine, Simon Ishac, Bradley Lee, Tyson Lynch, Nicholas Maroney, Adam Meredith, Brett Phillips, Peter Willoughby, Brett Wilson, Justin Wrbik
Coaches – Tony Guihot (Head), Liz Fraser, Ian McLeod Officials – Michael Hudson (Manager)
The Australian team known as the 'Boomerangs' finished sixth in the tournament.[4][18][19]
The Spanish intellectually disabled basketball team beat Russia 87-63 to win the gold medal match. This win was later contended as a full investigation into the team was conducted due to accusations of fraud. It was later discovered that 10 of the 12 players were not disabled and that this deception was committed intentionally.
The IPC conducted a major investigation into the INAS-FID registration cards for all 244 athletes who participated in the Sydney games. A number of issues were discovered resulting in athletes with an intellectual disability being suspended from all IPC activities. The ban heavily affected the future Australian team as a large number of medals won during the Sydney games were by ID athletes. It was not until a meeting on 9 March 2001, where the IPC Executive Committee approved five resolutions pertaining to future participation. Unfortunately, it was concluded that these parameters would not be sufficient to expel cheating from the games and ID competitions were banned indefinitely. After the 2008 Paralympic games, a more robust criterion had been decided upon and the ban on intellectually disabled athletes lifted.[20]
Boccia
221000 - Boccia Scott Elsworth action - 3b - Sydney 2000 match photo
Australia won 2 gold and 2 bronze medals in its second Paralympic competition. It came second to Great Britain in the overall medal tally. Due to the team's results, Head Coach Carolyn Lieutenant won the Australian Coaching Council's Female Coach of the Year award.[4][18][19]
Fencing
Australian wheelchair fencer Michael Alston in action during competition at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics
David Barber, Shaun Fedele, Eric Haddrick, Miguel Marcelino, Beau Menzies, Mark Morris, Andrew Panazzolo, Christopher Pyne, Jason Rand, Jeremy Thorpe, George Tonna
Coaches – Russell Marriott (Head), David Campbell
Officials – Corny van Eldik (Manager)
The team known as the 'Drillers' finished seventh in their first Paralympics.[4][18][19]
Coaches – Lachlan Gilbert (2.4mR), Paul Eldrid (Sonar)
Officials – John Whitfield
Australia won the gold medal in the Sonar event and finished fourth in 2.4MR. It was the second placed nation in sailing.[4][18][19]
The role of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) was to be the "official provider of weather services", by providing specifically tailored services to the participants, spectators and event organisers for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.[3] Based on the requests of the SOCOG sailing management team, the sailing events were prioritised in terms of forecasting effort, in comparison to the other events and their respective venues.[3]
The sailing events were hosted at the Sydney Harbour venue, as well as the offshore region adjacent to the entrance of the harbour.[3] Due to its detailed and complex topography, this entire region experienced certain challenges in relation to the forecasting of surface winds.[3] This included variations in wind speed and direction between "different reaches of the harbour", which occurred because of local sea to harbour and terrain circulations.[3] Another challenge that was identified centred around the accuracy of the resolution required for wind forecasting being beyond the scope of the Australian operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) models of implementation.[3] As a result of these factors, various statistical tools were developed to support the NWP output, and forecasts were provided across "three different harbour locations" in addition to a region offshore.[3]
The statistical models utilised in preparation for and during the event, were NWP-based and high in resolution.[3] The two models were one named LAPS 05 and one that only operated at 1-km and 5-km resolutions, and was a contribution made by the University of New South Wales Centre for Environmental Modelling and Prediction (CEMAP) that was available at 5-km and 1-km resolutions contribution made by the University.[3] Alongside these statistical models, a further five were incorporated to facilitate the forecasting process in targeting these "small-scale wind variations".[3] Following this, the evaluation of each model’s prediction skill was conducted, by drawing a comparison between the predicted data and data obtained via observation.[21] This comparison was made mathematically, by using statistical indices which included the root-mean-square (RMS) error, "wind bearing error, magnitude of vector error", square error and Brier Skill score.[21]
The Games marked the first event, where any member of the public and all the athletes participating were granted access to all the forecasting information that was specifically delivered to the organisers.[3] The Bureau of Meteorology’s website was developed to provide both the event participants and their coaches with access to weather data.[3] An Australian team of meteorologists was formed and made responsible for "interpreting the output" of an array of statistical and NWP models.[3] Weather advice was provided by forecasters two weeks in advance to the Games beginning, during the training period and during the sailing test events conducted in 1999 and 1999.[3] Hourly updates were provided in the form of site-specific forecasts for wave displacements and surface winds across various course locations, and the sail management team located in key boats present at the venue, was equipped with "onboard laptops" which were used to transmit the most updated weather information.[3]
It has been revealed that the ABM received "numerous tributes" in relation to the "quality of its services", from SOCOG, individual athletes, meteorologists who were part of the sailing team, web clients and the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).[3] Additionally, a meteorology team member shared that he was "impressed by the services available to athletes".[3] However, he also expressed that the quality of these services was not consistent in its delivery to the organisers, and suggested that the service providers increase their focus on strongly interacting with "all client groups" when providing "future Olympics weather services".[3]
Daniel Bell in the pool during competition at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
I had the privilege of sitting down the front on one of the nights at the swimming. It was incredible to turn around to look behind me and see 15,000 people right at the back of the Aquatic Centre. Probably the view was not very good for some of them, yet the people were there. They enjoyed it and I am sure found the whole experience uplifting.
Coaches – Matthew Brown (Head), Greg Rochowcyzk, John Ornsby, Wanda Smales, Brendan Keogh, Frank Hohmann, Trent Patten, Dick Orbell Officials – Michael Scott (Manager), Linda Garsden, John Stamoulos, Michael Martin, Jenny Lambert
Australia had its largest ever swimming team and it won 14 gold, 15 silver and 21 bronze medals. It finished fifth on the gold medal tally and second on the overall medal tally. During the competition, Australian swimmers set 42 Australian records, 14 Paralympic records and 7 world records.[4][18][19]
Table Tennis
251000 - Table Tennis Ross Schurgott action 2 - 3b - Sydney 2000 match photo
Coaches – Joe Hoad (Head) Officials – Carmel Medley and Roger Massie
Australia was given two wild card entries due to it being the host nation. It did not win any medals as no athlete progressed past the first round.[4][18][19]
The team known as the 'Crabs' finished eleventh out of twelve but had their first ever international victory by defeating the United States.[4][18][19]
Quarter-finals United States 62 defeated Australia 52
Fifth to Eight Playoffs Australia 61 defeated Germany 53
Fifth - Sixth Playoff Australia 50 defeated France 47
The men's team known as the 'Rollers' lost their quarter-final to the United States and finished fifth. The women's team known as 'Gliders' won the silver medal after losing to Canada in the final. It was their most successful Paralympics.[4][18][19]
The team known as the 'Steelers' won the silver medal after losing to the World and Paralympic champions, United States by one point in the final.[4][18][19]
Australia had very impressive results making three finals out of four and winning 1 gold and 2 silver medals. David Hall took home one gold and one silver medal.[4][18][19]
The SPOC identified the importance of reaching out the community in order to develop community awareness of the games, and to improve community relations. To achieve this, Community Support Programs were developed by the SPOC in 1998 and included partnership programs, a national education program, Ride 2000 and sports demonstrations. The aims of these initiatives were to "establish links with multicultural communities, service groups, local community events and disability groups to enhance community support"'[16]
One of the initiatives from the SPOC in partnership with the NSW Department of Education and Training (DET), was the introduction of a new curriculum to schools called 'Set no limits'. The package involved an official school excursion to the Paralympic Games for Australian school children, and included the official mascot of the games, 'Lizzie' the frill neck lizard. The National Education Program (NEP) aimed for school children to understand how to be more tolerant, however no official measures of attitudes were evaluated.
Demonstrations of disability sport were also conducted at Australian schools, shopping centres and other public events. These demonstrations were organised by the SPOC and APC, and included popular Paralympic sports such as wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby. The appearances of the Australian team athletes in these demonstrations was originally volunteer and un-paid, however later a fee of $500 was negotiated per appearance.
Rides 2000 was another community awareness initiative developed by Sue-Ellen Lovett, an equestrian rider and director of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games Board. During this time Lovett participated in long distance rides to regional Australia in order to raise awareness of, and funds for the Paralympic Games. The rides included:
1997: Melbourne to Sydney
1998: Brisbane to Sydney
1999: Adelaide to Sydney
2000: Moree to Sydney
These 'community support programs' assisted in raising community awareness in the lead up to the games. For these reasons, and also due to the success of the previous Olympic games, a 'party atmosphere' was created which continued into the Paralympic games. This attracted numerous spectators to the games, including new groups joining the 'Paralympic party'. These groups encompassed "those who were critical of the Olympics but supported the Paralympics as it was not perceived as a corporatised event",[16] seniors and also school children who could not afford the Olympic Games.
The Australian Government at the time also showed political support of the games. A post-Games dinner was held including 70 parliamentarians, that aimed to ensure continual government and private funding for the games in years to come. Former Deputy Leader of the Federal Coalition, Tim Fischer was also involved in the Games, overseeing the Paralympic Village in the role of mayor.[16]
The community was also involved in the games through volunteer roles. The partnership between the SPOC and SOCOG lead to 15,000 volunteers being recruited for the Paralympic games. Volunteers were trained by Technical and Further Education (TAFE) New South Wales (NSW). The volunteers participated in a range of disability awareness training activities in preparation for the games. It was also noted that a "larger number of volunteers had disabilities themselves, highlighting the accessibility of all aspects of the venues and overlay".[16] Two incidents were reported where volunteers felt discriminated against as they had a disability.[16]
Media coverage and operations
It's estimated that approximately 3.9 billion people viewed the Sydney Paralympic Games, across 220 countries. Australian commercial television station Channel 7 paid $45 million for the rights to broadcast the games, however later declined to do so as it regarded the investment too high risk. Simon Thomas, the SPOC's senior television manager was quoted as saying:
"There were several fundamental issues [that] we never got very close to resolving [with Channel 7] and in the end it was a mutual agreement to go our separate ways."[16]
Later, it was decided that Australian national broadcaster, ABC, would broadcast the games on ABC local radio and on ABC television. ABC had previous experience covering the Paralympics in 1992 and 1996. The television coverage included 40 hours of live action, with 2 hours per weekday and 20 hours on the grandstand program during both weekends. Over a total of 17 days, there were more than 8 million Metropolitan viewers and almost 4 million Regional viewers. The opening and closing ceremonies placed in the top 20 ABC most popular programs for the season. The ABC sports also set up an interactive website, with quizzes, athlete profiles and results.[25]
The relationship between the SOCOG and the SPOC resulted in providing improved media coverage for both the Olympics and Paralympics. Media operations were planned to limit the potential for complaint by both local Australian and overseas media, to result in better Paralympic Games reviews. This approach by Australian media was taken in response to the previous limitations of the Atlanta Paralympics. Australia was heavily involved in the media coverage of the Paralympics, namely through the role of volunteers.
The table below outlines the staffing numbers of the Media Centre at the Olympics and Paralympics respectively:[16]
Total Number
Peak Shift Number
Paid
114 Olympics
70 Paralympics
114 Olympics
70 Paralympics
Volunteer
1113 Olympics
253 Paralympics
340 Olympics
80 Paralympics
Contractor
1078 Olympics
223 Paralympics
490 Olympics
70 Paralympics
The Main Media Centre (MMC) for the Paralympics opened on 11 October, and from 18–29 October ran 24 hours a day. Coupled with the MMC was a research and information office, including a library run by Wayne Peak, the SOCOG Communications officer. Staff from the Centre for Olympic Studies at the University of New South Wales also assisted the running of the library. WeMedia provided internet coverage of the games, and was a sponsor and partner of the Sydney Paralympics. During the games, WeMedia had 300 staff operating in the MMC. Creative production of the WeMedia webcast was led by Jason Snyder.[26] The official broadcaster of the games ABC, had a comparatively smaller team of 30 for its television coverage.[16]
Australian Paralympic Movement
The 2000 Paralympic Games proved to be a unique catalyst for social change within Australia and enabled the APC to realize its true potential and capacity to be a leader in the international arena of Paralympic sport.
Through increased media coverage and community support, the Australian athletes who participated at the 2000 Summer Paralympic games have left a lasting impression. Future Paralympians and the APC are left with the gift of a legacy from these athletes. Information into the attitude towards the Paralympics was sought through the APC in conjunction with Woolcott Research over a two-year period. The statistics are listed below:
93% of Australians believe Paralympic athletes are elite and train as hard as able-bodied athletes
87% of Australians believe they should receive equal or more funding than Olympic athletes
71% of Australians want to know personal stories about the athletes
72% of Australians believe that Paralympic athletes do not receive the attention deserved to them
The success of the Australian Paralympic team during the 2000 Summer games paves the way for a strong argument related to increased funding, education and infrastructure.[11] After the 2000 games, 54 Australian athletes were later awarded part-time scholarships to attend the Australian Institute of Sport. The value of these scholarships was approximately $1000 and recognised the value of Paralympic sport.[16]
Following the Games, the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) became the legacy recipient of the nation with respect to recognition, funding, sport organisation and capacity development.[27] Attaining this title and the consequent recognition, further resulted in "government funding with a 150% increase" for up to seven years after the Games.[28] This facilitated the mainstreaming of certain aspects of the Paralympic sporting bodies, which were described to have "gained benefits" through better "training, coaching and professional sport organisations".[27] On the other hand, due to competing interests involving individuals without disabilities, the mainstreaming after-effects were also described to be placing a "lower priority for resources" amongst the disabled sporting community.[27] In general, the increased recognition provided an opportunity to target diverse demographics amongst coaches, teachers, students and the public, by "delivering disability education programmes" to approximately 39,000 individuals.[27]
In 2009, the Australian Paralympics Committee (APC) established the Australian Centre for Paralympic Studies (ACPS) as an initiative to preserve and protect the "historic, sporting and business information" that was acquired through the Paralympic Movement.[29] After its formation, the APC collaborated with the National Library of Australia (NLA) via a formal agreement for the "Paralympic oral history project", to capture and promote the preservation of Australian "history and sporting culture".[29] In general, this collaboration occurred in September 2010, to "mark the 50th anniversary of the Paralympic Games", and the project involved conducting interviews of athletes who participated in the first Games in 1960.[5] This led to the recording of "66 interviews" which initially focused on the first Paralympians.[5] Some of these interviews featured individuals who were described to have played "key roles" in the Australian Paralympic movement’s development.[5] This included Anne Green, who was a Paralympics swimming coach and administrator, and the captain of his team at the 1968 Games, Dr. John Yeo.[5] With time, this was followed by the project shifting in direction and expanding its focus to involve other athletes as well.[5] However, this attempt has been subjected to criticism by members of the Australian Paralympic Oral History Project, as they hold the view that it is essential for the APC to include "narratives from actual participants", instead of focusing on "proxy or interpretive accounts" from those who are not part of the disabled community.[29]
Twenty years after Australia’s 2000 Paralympic Games, the winning participants reflected on their past and present experiences, describing the event’s impact as one that has strongly shifted "Australia’s perception of disabilities".[30] Former wheelchair racer, Louise Sauvage current focus centres around training, guiding and assisting other Paralympians to "achieve their goals" to contribute to the future of this movement.[30] Tim Matthews, a former relay team member claimed that "there was no doubt the Sydney event was a watershed moment for the disability movement" which extends to the global community.[30] As Tim believes that the disabled community has a "voice and a lot more exposure" today, his priorities centre around "giving back" by training and supporting members of Paralympics Australia, as well as working as a talent spotter for the organisation.[30]
In addition, the Games were utilised as a platform to showcase the culture of Indigenous Australian peoples to participants and audiences from different nations.[31] The culture of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was described to be "rich", and the SOCOG worked in close collaboration with their communities to display their culture on a global scale, with the attempt to be inclusive in their approach.[31] The SOCOG also worked towards actively engaging Indigenous communities during the Games, to provide them with commercial, promotional, employment, ceremonies and cultural design opportunities.[31] This was actioned by its establishment of a National Indigenous Advisory Committee, which was delegated the responsibility to monitor and review the "cultural content, themes, materials and protocol" with respect to the events.[31] These events ranged from Olympics ceremonies, the Volunteers program, Olympics Arts Festivals, "traditional welcoming ceremonies" to the Olympic Youth Camp.[31] In particular, the Torch Relay was described to have paid a tribute to "many significant" and sacred Indigenous sites.[31] The Relay event both commenced and concluded with the recognition of Aboriginal athletes Nova Peris-Kneebone and Cathy Freeman, respectively.[31] Additionally, in the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, the torch was carried by an Indigenous athlete and wheelchair basketball player named Kevin Coombs.[32] Coombs had participated in the first Paralympic Games held in Rome in 1960 and was also assigned the role of serving as team captain during the 1980 Games.[32]
On 31 October, Australia Post began releasing stamps honouring a number of successful Paralympic athletes from the games. Featured on a 45c stamp was Siobhan Paton as the "Paralympian of the Year".[33]
Senator Lundy, on behalf of the Australian Labor Party, congratulated the athletes as well as coaches and supporting staff. She acknowledged the important dedication the athletes showed in making the games 'the best ever'.[34]
"Most of all I would like to acknowledge all of those athletes who went out there to strive for their personal best and achieved it. Not every sport records the personal best outcomes, but I know that an incredible number of athletes in their endeavours over the last two weeks did achieve their personal best and will hold that memory in their hearts forever."
Louise Sauvage later wrote of the 2000 Summer Paralympics and said:
231000 - Athletics wheelchair racing 800m T54 final Louise Sauvage silver action 2 - 3b - 2000 Sydney race photo
"Never in my years as a wheelchair racer had I experienced anything like the tremendous blast of noise and energy that swept me home to an Olympic gold medal that Sydney evening - Thursday 28 September 2000. And I probably never will again. After more races than I can begin to remember, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. I learned that night that a crowd of 110,000 in a great stadium can muster an amazing physicality when it is willing someone to win. Making my challenge with 150 metres to go, out in Lane Three on the brick-red Stadium Australia track, I felt as if I were almost picked up and carried along by the roar of the crowd, the breath of the crowd. They propelled me to the line … to the gold. Only later was I told of how many people had risen to their feet almost as one, clambering on seats, to add their determination to my own in that 800 metres final. I will never forget the feeling that night, the 'rush' that supported my charge in the home straight. It is not easy to put into words"[35]
Kurt Fearnley looked back at his success during his debut games:
301000 - Athletics wheelchair racing Kurt Fearnely waves - 3b - 2000 Sydney race photo
"I debuted in the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, in front of family, friends and just about every person who had carried me to the start line. But the support within the Australian Paralympic team was the real game changer for me. The current Australian Paralympic legends opened up their homes to me, gave me much-needed equipment and helped me understand the significance of what it is that we do. We look after each other. We are responsible for leaving the sport stronger than when we started. We are not strong despite our disability, we are strong because of it. We are proud men and women with disability, who choose to test our levels of functionality to the extreme."[36]
Games outcomes
By nature, and based on "conventional wisdom", the Paralympic Games provided a platform for Sydney’s disabled community to be granted the opportunity for a "lasting legacy" of an increased degree of disability awareness and the development of accessible infrastructure, which would ultimately improve the demographic’s socioeconomic status.[37] To achieve such outcomes, the OCA was delegated the role of "developing a sustainable long-term plan" in relation to design, construction and the overall operation of the venues.[37] This was in response to the limited accessibility issue faced by the disabled community. Roles including the distribution of event information, ticketing and entire operation of the Games were conducted by the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) and Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee (SPOC).[37]
Overall, the OCA undertook its responsibility by developing Access Guidelines, forming a body known as the Olympic Access Advisory Committee to specifically devise plans for disability and access issues, tailor-making an access guide for the Games and providing a critical written reflection on the event’s access operations.[27] As majority of the sporting events occurred at Sydney Olympic Park, the delivery of these enhancements for the disabled community was described as an "example of world best practice", and the venue has been regarded as the "premier access precinct in Australia".[27]
For example, prior to the Games, Sydney’s public transport system was not accessible to the disabled population, as "0% of public and private buses were accessible" and "less than 5% of rail stations accessible".[27] The Olympic Roads and Transport Authority (ORTA) was formed to plan, enable and maintain coordination between OCA, SOCOG and transport authorities. In response to the gap in accessing the public transport system, the ORTA was required to fulfil its role, however, minimal work was "undertaken to improve the access situation" in preparation for the Games.[27]
After the games, the Paralympic mascot 'Lizzie' was made available for the Australian public to purchase through Franklin stores. The Australian Paralympic Committee successfully claimed the rights to the mascot following the breakup of the SPOC. The APC saw value in the continuation and retention of the mascot in the community.
Prime Minister at the time John Howard announced increased government funding for Paralympic sport in the future. On 23 October 2000, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Howard had committed to proving the Paralympians the same percentage increase as the Olympians.[16]
Involvement of the NSW Government
The Olympic Co-ordination Authority (OCA) holds the view that measuring the "success" of the Games is not confined to the "performance of Games venues and events", but also entails the "festive atmosphere, access, ease of movement, security and urban amenity" which shape the overall experience of tourists, local residents and participants.[7] To fund and regulate the entire experience, the NSW government established bodies such as OCA, SPOC and SOCOG. Although SPOC and SOCOG are independent and unique entities, they are similar in function and complement one another.[7] Due to this, "economies of scale" and operational efficiencies have been accomplished by collaboration between "operational methods and personnel".[7] The NSW Government’s involvement in conducting sporting events and providing public services was fully coordinated by the OCA. Additionally, the OCA was responsible for managing the "Government’s relationship" with the other actively involved organisations, SPOC and SOCOG, as well as providing the NSW Government with ongoing reports about the expenditures.[7] The Government also created and funded other organisations to cater for all aspects of the Games such as health, water management, transport and security. For example, the purpose of the Olympic Security Command Centre (OSCC) was to assign a "security and intelligence team" from NSW Police with the responsibility of meeting security requirements through organisation, preparation and management.[7]
The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different Organizing Committees. In this edition, a record 3,801 athletes from 120 National Paralympic Committees participated in 551 events in 18 sports and until the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne,was the second largest sporting event ever held in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. Sydney was the eighth city to host the Olympics and the Paralympics on same venues at the same year, and the first since Barcelona 1992 that they were organized in conjunction with the Olympics. They were also the first Paralympic Games outside the Northern Hemisphere and also in Oceania.
Kurt Harry Fearnley, is an Australian wheelchair racer, who has won gold medals at the Paralympic Games and 'crawled' the Kokoda Track. He has a congenital disorder called sacral agenesis which prevented fetal development of certain parts of his lower spine and all of his sacrum. In Paralympic events he is classified in the T54 classification. He focuses on long and middle-distance wheelchair races, and has also won medals in sprint relays. He participated in the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Paralympic Games, finishing his Paralympic Games career with thirteen medals. He won a gold and silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and was the Australian flag bearer at the closing ceremony.
Alix Louise Sauvage, OAM is an Australian paralympic wheelchair racer and leading coach.
Priya Naree Cooper, is an Australian world champion disabled swimmer, winning nine Paralympic gold medals as well as world records and world championships. She competed in the Australian swimming team at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Paralympics with an S8 classification. She was twice the co-captain of the Australian Paralympic team, including at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, and carried the Australian flag at the closing ceremonies for the 1992 and 1996 Summer Paralympics. Cooper has cerebral palsy and spends much of her time in a wheelchair. She attended university, working on a course in health management. After she ended her competitive Paralympic career, she became a commentator, and covered the swimming events at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Australia sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. The country sent 167 athletes in 13 sports and 122 officials. It was the country's largest ever Paralympic delegation to an away Games. The team sent to Beijing was described as the emergence of the new generation of Australian athletes with 56 percent of the team attending their first Paralympic Games. The delegation's chef de mission was Darren Peters.
Australia has participated officially in every Paralympic Games since its inauguration in 1960 except for the 1976 Winter Paralympics.
Paralympics Australia (PA) previously called the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (1998–2019) is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the preparation and management of Australian teams that participate at the Summer Paralympics and the Winter Paralympics.
Francis Ettore Ponta was an Australian Paralympic competitor and coach. He competed in several sports including basketball, pentathlon, swimming and fencing. A paraplegic, he lost the use of both his legs after a tumour was removed from his spinal column when he was a teenager. Ponta was a member of Australia's first national wheelchair basketball team, and is credited with expanding the sport of wheelchair basketball in Western Australia. At the end of his competitive career, he became a coach, working with athletes such as Louise Sauvage, Priya Cooper, Madison de Rozario, Bruce Wallrodt and Bryan Stitfall. He died on 1 June 2011 at the age of 75 after a long illness.
Australia competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Games in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012. The London Games were the biggest Games with 164 nations participating, 19 more than in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic. Australia has participated at every Summer Paralympic Games and hosted the 2000 Sydney Games. As such, the 2000 Sydney Games, regarded as one of the more successful Games, became a point-of-reference and an inspiration in the development of the 2012 London Games.
The 1996 Summer Paralympics were held in the United States city of Atlanta. Australia competed in 13 of the 17 sports, winning medals in 10 of those sports. At the 1996 Summer Paralympics, Australia had the second highest medal tally of any country competing. It won 42 gold, 37 silver and 27 bronze medals. It surpassed the 24 gold medals that Australia won at the 1992 Paralympics. The sports of athletics, swimming and cycling provided Australia with the majority of its medals.
Australia competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. It was Australia's 12th year of participation at the Paralympics. The team included 151 athletes. Australian competitors won 101 medals to finish fifth in the gold medal table and second on the total medal table. Australia competed in 12 sports and won medals in 8 sports. The Chef de Mission was Paul Bird. The Australian team was smaller than the Sydney Games due to a strict selection policy related to the athletes' potential to win a medal and the International Paralympic Committee's decision to remove events for athletes with an intellectual disability from the Games due to issues of cheating at the Sydney Games. This was due to a cheating scandal with the Spanish intellectually disabled basketball team in the 2000 Summer Paralympics where it was later discovered that only two players actually had intellectual disabilities. The IPC decision resulted in leading Australian athletes such as Siobhan Paton and Lisa Llorens not being able to defend their Paralympic titles. The 2000 summer paralympic games hosted in Sydney Australia proved to be a milestone for the Australian team as they finished first on the medal tally for the first time in history. In comparing Australia's 2000 Paralympic performance and their 2004 performance, it is suggested that having a home advantage might affect performance.
Angela Ballard is an Australian Paralympic athlete who competes in T53 wheelchair sprint events. She became a paraplegic at age 7 due to a car accident.
Australia competed at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea in 16 sports, winning medals in 6 sports. Gold medals were won in three sports – athletics, lawn bowls and swimming. Australia won 95 medals – 23 gold, 34 silver and 38 bronze medals. Australia finished 10th on the gold medal table and 7th on the combined medal table. Australian Confederation of Sports for the Disabled reported another medal ranking after Games with Australia being 2nd ranked in amputee sports, 8th in wheelchair sports, 11th in blind sports and 12th in cerebral palsy sports.
Australia competed at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona for physically and vision-impaired athletes. Immediately after the Barcelona Games, the city of Madrid held events for athletes with an intellectual disability. The Madrid results are not included in International Paralympic Committee Historical Results Database. Australia finished 7th in the total medal count winning 76 medals. Australia competed in 13 sports and won medals in 3 sports – swimming, athletics and weightlifting. Australia finished first in the medal tally at the 1992 Paralympic Games for Persons with Mental Handicap in Madrid.
Australia competed at the 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States from 8 March to 19 March 2002. The Salt Lake Paralympics are the eighth such winter games, the first Winter Paralympics ever in North America and the first Winter Paralympics ever set up by an Olympic organizing committee. Although many of the Paralympic expenses were covered by dual planning with the Olympics, organizers still spent about $60 million on the Paralympics, including $5 million on the opening and closing ceremonies. The Salt Lake Games featured 92 events across four sports: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country, and ice sledge hockey. The 36 competing countries sent a total of 416 participants. Australia was represented by six male alpine skiers: Peter Boonaerts, Bart Bunting, Michael Milton, Scott Adams, Cameron Rahles-Rahbula, and Mark Drinnan. The medal haul was seven, consisting of six gold and one silver. Australia finished 8th overall in the gold and total medal count, making it the country's most successful Winter Games in terms of gold medals.
Brian Frederick McNicholl, OAM is a New Zealand-born Australian Paralympic powerlifter, weightlifter, wheelchair basketballer, and athlete, who won five medals at six Paralympic games from 1976 to 1996.
Kristy Pond is an Australian athletics competitor. She was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in athletics in the 100 metre and 200 metre events. She did not medal at the 2012 Games.
Disability sport in Australia encompasses individuals with different disabilities, of all ages and skill levels from recreational to professional, participating in sport in Australia. The apex of disability sport in Australia is the Paralympics. Australia's participation at the Paralympics began with the inaugural 1960 Summer Paralympics and 1976 Winter Paralympics. Australia hosted the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney.
Australia competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. Australia repeated its 2012 Summer Paralympics achievement in finishing fifth of the medal tally.
Jennifer Patricia Banks OAM is an Australian athletics coach specialising with Paralympic wheelchair athletes.
1 2 Legg, David; Gilbert, Keith (2011). "Chapter 8: Sydney 2000: Moving from Post-Hoc Legacy to Strategic Vision and Operational Partnerships". In Darcy, Simon; Appleby, Louis (eds.). Paralympic Legacies. Illinois: Common Ground Publishers. pp.75–95.
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