 Dashwood at the 2000 Summer Paralympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Gemma Joan Dashwood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 October 1977 Canberra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Gemma Joan Dashwood, OAM [1] (born 19 October 1977) [2] is an Australian Paralympic swimmer, medical doctor and ordained Deacon in the Anglican church. She was born in Canberra. [2] She competed in the Les autres disability category due to her septic arthritis. [3]
She won three gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Games in the Women's 100 m Butterfly S10, Women's 400 m Freestyle S10, and Women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle S7-10 events, for which she received a Medal of the Order of Australia. [1] At the same Games, she won two silver medals in the Women's 100 m Freestyle S10 and Women's 200 m Medley SM10 events. [4] At the 2000 Sydney Games, she won a gold medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S10 event, a silver medal in the Women's 200 m Medley SM10 event, and a bronze medal in the Women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle 34 pts event. [4]
She had an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship from 1995 to 2000. [5] In 1997, she moved to Newcastle to study speech therapy at the University of Newcastle and trained under Bill Nelson. She became a member of the University of Newcastle Swimming Club, where she practiced for the Sydney 2000 games. [6] She organised the 'Swimming in Parallel Calendar 2000' to raise the profile of the Australian female Paralympic swim team. [7] In 2000, she received an Australian Sports Medal. [8]
Dashwood graduated from Canberra Girls' Grammar School in 1995. She moved to Newcastle, New South Wales to study speech pathology at the University of Newcastle. After completing her degree, she worked in England. She returned to Canberra in 2004 and enrolled in the inaugural Australian National University Medical School class and graduated in 2007. In 2009, she completed her internship with ACT Health. [9] She has worked as an intensive care registrar at Canberra Hospital, Ipswich Hospital, Queensland and Wesley Hospital (Brisbane).[ citation needed ]
Dashwood is a highly regarded amateur musician, playing the organ and cello and singing, and plays the cello with the Australian Doctors' Orchestra. [9]
Dashwood has a long standing involvement with the Anglican Church. She plays organ at St Paul's Ipswich and sings at St John's Cathedral (Brisbane). She was ordained Deacon in December 2020 and is currently honorary Deacon at the Parish of Goodna. [10]
Dame Sophie Frances Pascoe is a New Zealand para-swimmer. She has represented New Zealand at four Summer Paralympic Games from 2008, winning a total of eleven gold medals, seven silver medals and one bronze medal, making her New Zealand's most successful Paralympian. She has also represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games.
Dame Sarah Joanne Storey, is a British cyclist and swimmer, a multiple gold medalist in the Paralympic Games, and six times British (able-bodied) national track champion. Her total of 28 Paralympic medals including 17 gold medals makes her the most successful and most decorated British Paralympian of all time as well as one of the most decorated Paralympic athletes of all time. She has the unique distinction of winning five gold medals in Paralympics before turning 19.
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.
Janelle Cherie Falzon, OAM is an Australian paralympic swimmer. She was born in Sydney, New South Wales. At the 1996 Summer Paralympics, she won a gold medal in the Women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle S7-10 event, for which she won a Medal of the Order of Australia, and two bronze medals in the Women's 100 m Backstroke S8 and Women's 400 m Freestyle S8 events. At the 1996 games, she competed in but did not medal in the Women's 100 m Freestyle S8 event, the Women's 200 m Medley SM8 event, and the Women's 4 × 100 m Medley S7-10 event. At the 2000 Games, she competed in the 100 m Backstroke S8 event, the 100 m Freestyle S8 event, the 400 m Freestyle S8 event and the 50 m Freestyle S8 event, but did not win any medals at those Games. In 2000, she received an Australian Sports Medal.
Judith Joan Young is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She was born in Melbourne. Young, who has a birth defect in her arm, was one of the first people to receive an Australian Institute of Sport Athletes with a Disability residential scholarship, from 1993 to 1996. She was coached by Peter Freney with assistance from Jim Fowlie.
Stephen Leslie Simmonds is an Australian Paralympic swimmer and disabled waterskiing world champion. In February 1982, at the age of six, his right leg was amputated below the knee after a car knocked him off his bike. After the accident, he took up BMX riding, football, basketball, gymnastics and competitive swimming. He attended St Edmund's College, Canberra. At the age of twelve, he was the first student with a disability to compete at the Australian Primary Schools Championships. At the 1989 FESPIC Games in Kobe, Japan, he won a gold medal, two silver medals and a bronze medal in swimming events. He did not win a medal at the 1990 World Championships and Games for the Disabled in Assen, Netherlands.
Daniel Bell is an Australian swimmer born in American Samoa, who has won five Paralympic medals from 2000 to 2008.
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Chantel Louise Wolfenden, OAM is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. Born in the New South Wales town of Lithgow, she started to swim at the age of five as therapy for cerebral palsy. She underwent three operations to cut and lengthen her achilles tendon.
Michael Anderson, is an Australian Paralympic swimmer who has won gold, silver and bronze medals at the three Paralympics from 2008 to 2016.
Katherine Rose Downie is an Australian Paralympian. Kat first represented Australia in 2011. Kat represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in swimming and was a member of both the Gold medal Women's 34 point 4 x 100 free and 4 × 100 medley relay teams. Kat placed fourth in both her pet events the 100 backstroke and 200IM.
Joseph William Walker, OAM is an Australian swimmer with an intellectual disability. At the 1992 Paralympic Games for Persons with Mental Handicap, he won nine gold medals from nine events.
Paige Leonhardt is an Australian swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where she won a silver medal. She has been selected to compete at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
Belinda Chantalle Zijderveld is a retired Dutch swimmer. She competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, in Women's 200 metre individual medley SM10, winning a gold medal; Women's 50 metre freestyle S10 and Women's 100 metre freestyle S10, winning silver medals; and Women's 100 metre butterfly S10, winning a bronze medal.
Bianka Pap is a Hungarian Paralympic swimmer.
Emma Cattle is a British Paralympian competing in S10 events. She competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, and won medals at the 2009 and 2011 IPC Swimming European Championships.
Lisa Kruger is a Dutch swimmer who is a member of the Dutch Paralympic team.
Jasmine Greenwood is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, she won a silver medal in the 100 m butterfly S10. She has a been selected to compete at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France.
Keira Stephens is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, she won two bronze medals. She has a been selected to compete at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France.
