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.[1][2] 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.[3]
Australia finished 5th in the final medal count with 85 medals: 32 gold medals, 23 silver medals and 30 bronze medals.[2]
Australian team portrait taken at Cardiff Castle during pre Games training camp
Context
The 2012 London Paralympic Games were officially opened on Wednesday 29 August by Queen Elizabeth II at The Olympic Stadium in London. The Games had a record number of participating athletes at 4327, made up of 2736 men and 1501 women. London hosted 503 medal-winning events in 20 different sports.[2][4] The Paralympians competed under six different impairment groups: amputees, blind and visually impaired, cerebral palsied, intellectually disabled, Les Autres and spinal cord injuries. These athletes set 251 new world records and 314 Paralympic Games records.[2]
During the Games, 2.7 million tickets were sold with most events and sessions selling out. Media coverage of the Paralympic Games was high. The Games were shown in more countries than previous Games, attracting the biggest international audience yet.[2]
The Australian team
An interview with Michael Hartung, assistant Chef de Mission for Australia while in London
The Australian Paralympic Team launch was held at Parliament House, Canberra on 25 June 2012. Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the Leader of the OppositionTony Abbott farewelled the team. Julia Gillard told the athletes that they were "the fastest, the strongest, the best".[5] Tony Abbott said "you are best of the best. In fact you are better than that because each one of you has mastered a significant disability to be in this team".[5] Gillard stated that the Australian Government has invested A$13 million in team funding during the last year.[5] The Australian Paralympic Committee organised a Staging Camp in Cardiff, Wales from 1 to 28 August 2012 to allow the Australian team to prepare for the Games.[4]
The 2012 Australian Paralympic team had 161 athletes, 90 men and 71 women, competing in 13 sports.[4] About half the team attended their first Games.[6] Shooter Libby Kosmala, at the age of 70, was Australia's oldest competitor.[7] Swimmer Maddison Elliott, at the age of thirteen, was the youngest.[8]
Greg Smith wraps himself in the Australian Flag outside Cardiff Castle after the announcement that he would be the 2012 Australian Flag Bearer
Jason Hellwig, the Australian Paralympic Committee's chief executive, was the Chef de Mission. While Michael Hartung and Kate McLoughlin were the Deputy Chefs de Mission.[1]
On 21 August 2012, Greg Smith, a wheelchair rugby player and former track and field athlete, was announced as the Australian flag bearer for the London 2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony.[4][9] The announcement was made at a special ceremony for the Australian Paralympic Team in front of Cardiff Castle in Wales.[4][9]
The Australian Paralympic Committee worked to classify each Australian Paralympian's individual disability well before the London Games. This was to ensure that each Paralympian qualified for their event and to "minimise any effect on [each Paralympian’s] Games preparation”. As such, the number of classifiers in the Australian Paralympic Committee, with the capacity to classify an athlete's impairment group, increased to 176 from 166 during 2011–2012.[4]
2012 Paralympians of the Year Awards
Australian Paralympian of the Year: Jacqueline Freney
APC President's Medal for Excellence in Sportsmanship: Libby Kosmala (shooting)/ Kieran Modra (cycling)
Male Athlete of the Year: Evan O’Hanlon (athletics)
Female Athlete of the Year: Jacqueline Freney (swimming)
Junior Athlete of the Year: Maddison Elliott (swimming)/ Rheed McCracken (athletics)
Team of the Year: The Steelers (wheelchair rugby)/ SKUD18 crew (sailing)
Coach of the Year: Peter Day (cycling)
Paralympic Achievement Award: Matthew Cowdrey (swimming)[4]
A cerebral palsy swimmer and the highest achieving individual athlete of the Games, winning eight gold medals. This is the most gold medals won by an Australian athlete at a single Paralympic Games.
- Awards: Australian Paralympian of the Year 2012 and Australian Female Athlete of the Year.
- The most successful individual medallist of any nation in London.
- Ranked equal first on total medals won at a single Paralympic Games with fellow Australian swimmer Matthew Cowdrey and USA swimmer Jessica Long, with eight medals in total.
- Events where Freney won a gold medal:
100 m backstroke (S7)
50 m butterfly (S7)
100 m freestyle (S7)
50 m freestyle (S7)
400 m freestyle (S7)
200 m individual medley (SM7)
Women's 4x100 m freestyle relay (34 pts) with Ellie Cole, Katherine Downie, Maddison Elliott
Women's 4x100 m medley relay (34 pts) with Ellie Cole, Katherine Downie, Annabelle Williams[4]
Cowdrey, gold medallist. at the 2012 London Paralympics
An arm amputee swimmer, winning eight medals – five gold, two silver and one bronze medal. During the Games, he became Australia's greatest Paralympian in terms of gold and total medals. He finished the Games with 13 gold medals.
- Awards: Paralympic Achievement Award
-Events where Cowdrey won a gold medal:
100 m backstroke (S9)
50 m freestyle (S9)
100 m freestyle (S9)
200 m individual medley (SM9)
Men's 4x100 m freestyle relay (34 pts) with Michael Anderson, Michael Auprince, Blake Cochrane, Matthew Haanappel Brenden Hall, Matthew Levy, Andrew Pasterfield
- Events where Cowdrey won a silver medal:
100 m butterfly (S9)
100 m breaststroke (SB8)
- Events where Cowdrey won a silver medal:
Men's 4x100 m medley relay (34 pts) with Michael Anderson, Michael Auprince, Matthew Haanappel, Brenden Hall, Matthew Levy, Andrew Pasterfield, Rick Pendleton[4]
The wheelchair rugby team won its first Paralympic Games gold medal and the SKUD 18 sailing team won the first sailing gold medal since the Sydney Games in 2000.
- Awards: Team of the Year – Australian wheelchair rugby team, The Steelers, and the SKUD 18 sailing team, Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch.
The International Paralympic Committee said that "the London Paralympic 2012 Games were watched by a cumulative international audience of 3.4 billion (excluding the host nation), which is an increase of around 37 percent on the last summer Games in Beijing".[2]
The ABC provided over 100 hours of free to air coverage on ABC1.[11] This coverage had a broadcast team of veteran Olympic and Paralympic athletes. ABC2 broadcast live panel programs at night. These programs aimed “to look at the lighter side of the games”.[11] The ABC also had regular updates on News 24 and on their website, ABC online. Through this website and ABC's iView, Australians were able to access Paralympic coverage at any time.[11]
The average number of audience viewers per day was 1.6 million people. The Australian Paralympic Team's Facebook page grew by 16,000 fans and its YouTube channel reached close to 474,000 views.[4][11]
The Australian Government declared that the coverage was “the most comprehensive ever implemented by the Australian Paralympic Committee Communications division”.[4]
Statistics show that the number of media stories about the Paralympic Games has increased each time since the 2004 Athens Summer Paralympic Games.[4][12]
Radio
Television
Print
Internet
Total
Athens 2004
8426
8915
2037
288
19666
Beijing 2008
14829
11646
4084
1450
31986
London 2012
26849
30032
4178
2284
63343
Number of media articles on various platforms
The number of media stories increased over time because of interest. The table below shows the increased interest by the Australian public as it shows the increasing number of viewers in millions.[4][12]
Radio
Television
Print
Total
Athens 2004
156.68
204.39
204.82
565.89
Beijing 2008
158.75
265.28
345.89
769.84
London 2012
229.11
302.86
398.59
924.81
Number of viewers in millions
Effects of the London 2012 Paralympic Games on Australian society
The media coverage on the Paralympic Games had an effect on Australian society. The increased coverage and increased audiences showed Australia's increased interest in Paralympic sport.
Light-hearted panel shows aided this interest. For instance, Australian comedian, Adam Hills, created a show called The Last Leg. Hills hosts the show with Alex Brooker, both of whom are disabled, and with comedian Josh Widdicombe. Broadcast on the ABC in Australia and on Channel 4 in the UK, the show recapped each day's competition at the London 2012 Paralympics, engaging in feedback from the public, which “facilitated dialogue… [and encouraged the exploration of] issues of disability in an open and respectful but also playful way”.[13][14]
These panel shows and high-profile Paralympic athletes are using their position for political activism. Consequently, it is argued that the media and individual Paralympic athletes have “helped change societal perspectives… [as] para-athletes are now increasingly being judged alongside other sporting peers with or without a disability”.[14]
As such, Paralympians are now beginning to have commercial success. For instance, Paralympians Kelly Cartwright, Ahmed Kelly, Dylan Alcott, Kurt Fearnley and Evan O’Hanlon featured in Qantas’ London 2012 Ambassador Program and the airline's in-flight safety message, which ran from June 2012.[4]
Paralympians Kurt Fearnley, Matt Cowdrey, Kelly Cartwright and Toby Kane made eleven public appearances for Telstra.[4]
While Paralympians Dylan Alcott, Grace Bowman, Matthew Cowdrey and Jessica Gallagher appeared in the Swisse Vitamins television commercials.[4]
On a broader level, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) suggest that the Olympics and Paralympics provide inspiration for ordinary people to get motivated to participate in sport, known as the “trickle-down effect”.[15]
However, research by the Australian Centre for Olympic Studies refutes their statement. They argue that data from the Exercise Recreation and Sport survey shows that “no increase of participation in Olympic sports was found”, which suggests that Olympic sport does not inspire the “trickle-down effect”. However, they also note that a similar study “cannot be carried out for Paralympic sports” because Commonwealth and State departments of sport “never included a disability module”.[15]
A report by Disability Rights Now suggests that “support for grassroots participation and pathways to elite level competition is lacking”. They argue against relying on the Australian Paralympic Committee's (APC) Talent Search Program and the APC's emphasis on elite development over grassroots participation.[15]
However, the Australian Government argues that the Talent Search Program is successful. For the 2012 London Paralympics, 43 Paralympic athletes on the Australian team were found using this program. Of these athletes, twenty-five won a medal at the 2012 Games – ten gold, seven silver and eleven bronze – which is 32.9 per cent of Australia's total medal tally.[4]
Also, the program has achieved better results than the previous Talent Search period, as demonstrated in the table below:
Support staff – Administration -Andrew Faichney (Section Manager), Don Elgin (Section Manager), Lynda Gusbeth (Section Manager), Stephanie Martin (Personal Care Assistant), Janet Rerden; Coaches – Steve Butler, Andrew Dawes, Iryna Dvoskina, John Eden, Aaron Holt, Brett Jones, Tim Matthews, Fred Periac, Brett Robinson, Louise Sauvage; Physiotherapists – Victoria Moore, Bernadette Petzel, Soft Tissue Therapist – Mick Jordan, Phil Power; Mechanic – Andrew Carter[16][17][18]
Hodgetts at the 2012 London Paralympics
Australia finished 10th on the athletics medal table winning 27 medals – 5 gold, 9 silver and 13 bronze. Gold medalists were – Evan O'Hanlon (gold), Richard Colman, Kelly Cartwright and Todd Hodgetts. Russell Short attended his 7th Games, Hamish MacDonald his 6th Games and Christine Dawes and Richard Nicholson their 5th Games.
Colman at the 2012 London Paralympics
Results key
Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
Q = Qualified for the next round
WR = World record
PR = Paralympic record
OC = Oceania record
N/A = Round not applicable for the event
Gold medallist Kelly CartwrightGold medallist Todd HodgettsGold medallist Richard Co9lman
Members of the Australian Paralympic cycling team for 2012 at the team's announcement in Adelaide, South Australia. From left to right: Felicity Johnson and her pilot, Stephanie Morton; Jayme Paris; Scott McPhee and Kieran Modra (McPhee piloted for Modra).
Support staff – Administration – Murray Lydeamore (Section Manager); Coaches – Peter Day (Head), Jenni Banks, Paul Martens, Tom Skulander; Mechanic – Peter Giessauf, Mike Winter; Physiotherapist – Anouska Edwards, Soft tissue therapist – Alan Downes[18]
Support staff – Administration – Sally Francis (Section Manager); Coach – Julia Battams (Head); Physioptherapist – Victoria Kahn; Grooms – Elsa Davis, Nicole King, Fay Mendez, Kate O'Brien; Veterinarian – Janine Dwyer[18] m Three athletes attended Games for the first time.[19] Australia won its first gold medal since the 2000 Sydney Games with Joann Formosa's medal.
Support staff – Administration – Peter Corr (Section Manager); Coach – Georgina Kenaghan; Physiothyerapist – Eliza Kwan[18]
The team went into the Games ranked eight in the world and is the first Australian goalball team to qualify for the Paralympic sport since Atlanta in 1996.[20] It competed in Group B against China, United States, Sweden, Japan and Canada. The Australian men's team did not qualify after losing the Africa Oceania Goalball Regional Championships 5–4 against Algeria.[21]
Gardiner, a previous Games medallist, competed at his fourth Games and Fekadu and a refugee from Ethiopia competed at his second Games. Australia did not win any medals.
Support staff – Administration – Sarah Karsten (Section Manager), Peter Conde (Support staff); Coaches – Grant Alderson, Tim Lowe, Richard Scarr; Physiotherapist – Sarah Ross, Technical Support – Adrian Finglas, Boat Technician – Jeffery Milligan; Personal Care Attendant – Kumi Sasaki[18]
Lisel Tesch attendedg her sixth Games but the first as sailor. She previously captained Australian women's wheelchair basketball team to medals at previous Games. Tesch won her first Paralympic gold medal in combination with Daniel Fitzgibbon to win Two Person Keelboat.
Support staff – Admionistration – Nick Sullivan (Section Manager); Coach – Miro Sipek; Technical Support – Stuart Smith; Personal Care Attendant – Anne Bugden, Yvonne Cain, Margaret Zubcic[18]
Libby Kosmala competed at her 11th Paralympic Games at the age of 70. Ashley Adams competed at his 4th Games.[7] Australia won one bronze medal through Natalie Smith.
Qualification Legend: Q= Qualified for final; OC= Oceania Record; PR= Paralympic Record; WR= World Record
Support staff – Administration – Karyn Burgess (Section Manager); Coaches – Brendan Keogh (Head), Angelo Basalo, Tom Davis, Michael Freney, Rob Hindmarsh, Jon O'Neil-Shaw, Chris Phillips, Bash Zidan; Personal Care Attendant – Tara Andrews; Physiotherapist – David Spurrier, Jo Evershed; Sport Scientists – Brendan Burkett, Sacha Fulton; Soft tissue therapist – Penny Will; Psychologist – Jason Patchell[18]
Australia finished second on the gold medal table and won a total of 37 medals 18 gold, 7 silver and 12 bronze. Leading swimmers were – Jacqueline Freney won 8 gold medals, Matthew Cowdrey won 5 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal and Ellie Cole won 4 gold medals and 2 bronze medals.
Selected team of 2 athletes. Women- Melissa Tapper and Rebecca McDonnell. Support staff – Administration – Roger Massie (Section Manager); Coach – Alois Rosario (Head)[18]
The Australian men's wheelchair basketball team were in Group A with the United States, Spain, South Africa, Italy and Turkey. Australia won the silver medal, losing to Canada in the final.
The following is the Australia roster in the men's wheelchair basketball tournament of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[23]
Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team – 2012 Summer Paralympics roster
Australian women's wheelchair basketball team in the match with Canada.Australian women's wheelchair basketball team in the match with Canada.
The Australian women's wheelchair basketball team were in Group A with the Netherlands, Great Britain, Brazil and Canada. Australia won the silver medal, losing to Germany in the final.
The following is the Australia roster in the women's wheelchair basketball tournament of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[24]
Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team – 2012 Summer Paralympics roster
Support staff – women – administration – Marian Stewart (section manager); coaches – John Triscari (head), David Gould, Ben Osborne; physiotherapist – Miranda Wallis.[18]
Referee: Darren Roberts (USA), Chris van de Riet (NED)
Support staff – Administration – Paul Kiteley (Section Manager); Coach – Brad Dubberley (Head); Technical Support – Chevvy Cooper; Personal Care Assistant – Angela Mansell; Physiotherapist – Simon Mole[18]
Team Executive – Jason Hellwig (Chef de Mission), Michael Hartung (Deputy Cheff de Mission), Kate McLoughlin(Deputy Chef de Mission), Adam McCarthy (Paralympic Attache), Kurt Plummer (Security Liaison Officer), Jim FitzSimons (General Counsel)[18]
Operations - Caroline Walker (Manager, Logistics), Anna Muldoon (Cooridinator, Logistics), Chris Nunn (Manager, Coach Services), Steven Graham (Assistant, Coach Services), Greg Omay (Assistant, Coach Services), Natalie Hutchinson (Manager, Team Services), Cathy Lambert, (Cooridinator, Team Services), Chris Voysey (Manager, Information Technology), Tim Murphy (Assistant, Information Technology), Genevieve McMahon (Manager, Classification), Steve Loader(Manager, Off Airport Processing)[18]
Media Team – Tim Mannion (Manager, Media, and Communications),Shaun Giles (Manager, Multimedia), Margie McDonald (MLO), Gennie Sheer (MLO), Lachlan Searle (MLO), Chris Abbott (MLO), David Sygall (MLO), Jacqualine Chartres (MLO), Rebekka Wake (MLO), Sarah Rogers (MLO), Darcy Bonser (Cooridinator, Multimedia), Olivia McGrath (Cooridinator, Multimedia), Neil Cross (MLO), Jeff Crow (Chief Photographer), Judy Goldman (MLO,Sydney Office)[18]
Medical Staff - Alison Campbell (Manager, SSSM), Linda Clow (Team Doctor), Corey Cunningham (Team Doctor), Geoff Thompson (Team Doctor), Ruth Fazakerley (Nurse/Clinic Administrator), Richard Bennett (Psychologist), Sarah Jack (Psychologist), Liz Broad (Manager, Nutrition), Siobhan Moran (Assistant, Nutrition), Jo Vaile (Manager, Recovery), Matthew Driller (Assistant, Recovery), Keren Faulkner (Manager, Physical Therapies), Penny Dayan (Physiotherapist), Gilian Niven (Soft Tissue Therapist), Scott Smith (Soft Tissue Therapist), Ebonie Scase (Physiotherapist), Zoe Horder(Personal Care Attendant)[18]
Welcome home celebrations
The team returned to Sydney Airport to be greeted by a number of Australian Government ministers, family, friends and the media. The team was treated to a performance by the band Icehouse. Congratulatory messages were from Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan, Minister for Sport Kate Lundy and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.[28]
Matthew John Cowdrey is an Australian politician and Paralympic swimmer. He presently holds numerous world records. He has a congenital amputation of his left arm; it stops just below the elbow. Cowdrey competed at the 2004 Paralympic Games, 2006 Commonwealth Games, 2008 Paralympic Games, 2010 Commonwealth Games, and the 2012 Paralympic Games. After the 2012 London Games, he is the most successful Australian Paralympian, having won thirteen Paralympic gold medals and twenty three Paralympic medals in total. On 10 February 2015, Cowdrey announced his retirement from swimming.
Melissa Paula Carlton, OAM is a South African-born Australian swimmer. Born with no right leg and short fingers on her left hand, she won gold, silver and bronze medals for Australia at both the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Paralympics.
Siobhan Bethany Paton, OAM is an Australian Paralympic swimmer who was born in Sydney. Paton has had an intellectual disability from birth which was a consequence a lack of oxygen. Paton decided to become a swimmer after finding out she has a connective tissue disorder and that swimming would assist in the strengthening of her joints. Siobhan initially began competing with non-disabled athletes and only in 1997 did she compete in a competition for athletes with disabilities, where she won seven gold medals and one silver medal. As of 2004, she holds thirteen world records in her disability class of S14.
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.
Ellie Victoria Cole, is an Australian retired Paralympic swimmer and wheelchair basketball player. After having her leg amputated due to cancer, she trained in swimming as part of her rehabilitation program and progressed more rapidly than instructors had predicted. She began competitive swimming in 2003 and first competed internationally at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships, where she won a silver medal. Since then, she has won medals in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the Paralympic Games, the IPC Swimming World Championships, and various national championships. Following the 2012 London Paralympics, where she won four gold and two bronze medals, Cole underwent two shoulder reconstructions and made a successful return to swimming at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships, winning five medals, including three golds. She subsequently represented Australia at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. In claiming her seventeenth Paralympic medal in Tokyo, Cole became Australia's most decorated female Paralympian with six gold, five silver and six bronze medals from four Paralympic 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.
Ryley Batt, is an Australian wheelchair rugby player. He has won two gold and one silver medal at five Paralympic Games.
Brenden Hall, is an Australian Paralympic swimmer who won two gold medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics where he won one gold, one silver and one bronze medal. He competed at 2020 Summer Paralympics, his fourth games.
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.
Gregory Stephen Smith, OAM is an Australian Paralympic athlete and wheelchair rugby player who won three gold medals in athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics, and a gold medal in wheelchair rugby at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, where he was the flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
Cameron de Burgh is an Australian Paralympic swimmer, who has won four medals at two Paralympics.
Jacqueline Rose "Jacqui" Freney is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2012 London Games, she broke Siobhan Paton's Australian record of six gold medals at a single Games by winning her seventh gold medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S7. She finished the Games with eight gold medals, more than any other participant in the Games.
Annabelle Williams, is a Paralympic swimming competitor from Australia. She has a congenital limb deficiency. She appeared in Mad Max 4. Representing Australia, she has won a gold medal at the 2012 London Paralympic Games in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in the Women's 100m Butterfly S9. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, she earned a silver medal in the Women's 50m Freestyle S9 and a bronze in the Women's 100m Multi Disability Freestyle. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she earned a silver in the Women's 50m Freestyle S9 event.
The Australian Paralympic Swim Team has competed at every Summer Paralympics, which started with the 1960 Summer Paralympic Games.
South Africa competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London with a team of 62 athletes and finished 18th on the medal table.
Michael Auprince, is an Australian swimmer and wheelchair basketball player. He set several swimming records and was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London in swimming, where he won gold and bronze medals. He represented the Rollers team at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Maddison Gae Elliott, is an Australian swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, she became the youngest Australian Paralympic medallist by winning bronze medals in the women's 400 m and 100 m freestyle S8 events. She then became the youngest Australian gold medallist when she was a member of the women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay 34 points team. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, she won three gold and two silver medals.
Rowan Crothers OAM is an Australian freestyle swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. He won two gold and one silver medals at the Tokyo Paralympics.
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