Elizabeth Wright (swimmer)

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Elizabeth Wright
231000 - Swimming 400m freestyle S6 Elizabeth Wright silver medal podium - 3b - 2000 Sydney podium photo.jpg
Wright on the silver medal podium for the 400 m freestyle S6 at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Personal information
NationalityFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Born (1979-11-09) 9 November 1979 (age 45)
Medal record
Swimming
Paralympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2000 Sydney Women's 400 m Freestyle S6
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1996 Atlanta Women's 50 m Butterfly S6
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2000 Sydney Women's 4x50 m Freestyle relay 20 pts
IPC Swimming World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1998 ChristchurchWomen's 4 x 50 m Freestyle Open
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg1998 ChristchurchWomen's 50 m Butterfly S6
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg1998 ChristchurchWomen's 4 x 50 m Medley Open

Elizabeth Wright (born 9 November 1979) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer who won one bronze at the 1996 Summer Paralympics and a bronze and silver at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. [1] She also has a Master of Philosophy in fine arts (photography).

Contents

Early life

Wright was born on 9 November 1979, [2] and is from the New South Wales town of Cooranbong. [3] She was born with a congenital limb deficiency. Her right arm is missing at the elbow, her right leg is "severely shortened" requiring the use of a prosthesis and she is lacking two fingers and the forearm bone of her left hand. [4]

Swimming career

Wright's swimming career at the highest level lasted for seven years. [5] Her classification during this time was S6. [6] She swam for the Gosford Amateur Swimming Club. [7] and was a New South Wales Institute of Sport swimmer. [8] She attended the opening of the Wesley Mission's Mangrove Mountain Retreat swimming pool. [9] At the 1996 Atlanta Games she won a bronze medal in the Women's 50 m Butterfly S6 event. [1] In January 2000, she attended the Australia Day Celebrations in Forest Park as a Paralympic Ambassador. [10] She competed in the 2000 Sydney Games where she won a silver medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S6 event, and a bronze medal as part of the Australian women's team in the 4 x 50 m Freestyle Relay. [1]

Academic career

Wright first attended the University of Newcastle in 2003 at her mother's urging to explore her love of art in that setting. [5] She enrolled in the university's Open Foundation program, [5] which is intended for students over twenty years old who are entering university for the first time, [11] before transitioning to Central Coast campus to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts. [5] She studied abroad at University of Leeds in her third year at the university. [5] In 2008, she attended the University of Newcastle, where she completed a Master of Philosophy in Fine Art (Photography). [4] [5] She later attended the University of Leeds as a Doctorate of Philosophy student doing research in the fine arts. [12] At the Canadian Association for Women's Public History Conference, "Women’s Bodies in a Public History Context" in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, she presented a paper titled "self (un)contained: revealing the authentic experience of disability within a feminist context". [12] She had a paper published in the University of Edinburgh’s Postgraduate Journal of Culture and the Arts titled "My Prosthetic and I: identity representation in bodily extension." [12] Currently Wright is working with the overseas disability charity CBM as their Sports Ambassador. [13] She is also the founder and editor of Conscious Being, a magazine "by disabled women, for disabled women". [14]

Journalist

Since 2022, she is a reporter with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation covering disability affairs and sport. [15] At the 2024 Australian Sports Commission Media Awards, she was awarded the 'Best coverage of sport for people with disability'. [16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Elizabeth Wright". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee . Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Australian Paralympic Committee (2000). Media guide : 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games. Sydney, Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee.
  3. ↑ "Newcastle Herald Index". Newcastle Herald. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  4. 1 2 Wright, Elizabeth. "About Elizabeth". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "THE FINE ART OF SUCCESS" (PDF). University of Newcastle. 2008. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "The Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games". Australian Institute of Sport. Archived from the original on 29 March 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Gosford Amateur Swimming Club Handbook" (PDF). Gosford Amateur Swimming Club. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "NSWIS Olympic and Paralympic Medallists" (PDF). New South Wales Institute of Sport. 2000. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games". 12 October 2000. p. 9191. Archived from the original on 30 March 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Rotary History". Rotary International, Epping. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "Who Can Apply? Open Foundation". University of Newcastle. Archived from the original on 3 December 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  12. 1 2 3 "High flying graduates in Arts and Health". University of Newcastle. Archived from the original on 15 April 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  13. ↑ "Olympic Medalist becomes CBM's Paralympics Sports Ambassador". CBMUK. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  14. ↑ "Conscious Being – Medium".
  15. ↑ "Elizabeth Wright - ABC News". www.abc.net.au. 21 December 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  16. ↑ Commission, Australian Sports Commission; jurisdiction=Commonwealth of Australia; corporateName=Australian Sports. "Margie McDonald honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award". Australian Sports Commission. Retrieved 20 February 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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