 Dashwood shows her silver medal won in the 200 m medley SM10 event at the 2000 Summer Paralympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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]
Benjamin James Austin, OAM is an Australian Elite Athlete with a Disability (EAD) swimmer. His classification is S8.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Paul Damian Cross, OAM is an Australian swimmer with an intellectual disability. He was born in Brisbane, Queensland. He competed at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in two events. At the 2000 Sydney Games, he competed in eight events and won a gold medal in the Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle S14 swimming event, for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia. In 2000, he received an Australian Sports Medal. In 1999, he was an Australian Institute of Sport Athlete with a Disability scholarship holder.
Tracey Nicole Cross, OAM is an Australian visually impaired swimmer. She won ten medals at three Paralympics, from 1992 to 2000.
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.
Daniel Bell is an Australian swimmer born in American Samoa, who has won five Paralympic medals from 2000 to 2008.
Stewart Alan Pike, OAM is an Australian Paralympic swimmer and was born in the New South Wales city of Taree. Pike has an intellectual disability and took up swimming to overcome his life frustrations. He attended Weston Primary School and Kurri Kurri High School. He won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Games in the Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle S14 event, for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia, and a silver medal in the Men's 200 m Medley SM14 event. In 2000, he received an Australian Sports Medal and an Australian Institute of Sport Athlete with a Disability scholarship. In 2001, he was awarded the Cessnock City Council Australia Day Sports Award. In 2006, he was an inaugural inductee in the Cessnock Hall of Fame.
Prue Watt, is a Paralympic swimming gold medalist from Australia. She has represented Australia at the four Paralympics from 2004 to 2016.
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.
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 100 m Butterfly S9. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, she earned a silver medal in the Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 and a bronze in the Women's 100 m Multi Disability Freestyle. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she earned a silver in the Women's 50 m Freestyle S9 event.
Helena Martha Brunner, OAM, is an Australian swimmer, who won seven medals at the 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville Games.
Teigan Van Roosmalen is an Australian Paralympic S13 swimmer. She has Usher Syndrome type 1 legally blind and Profoundly deaf. She had a swimming scholarship from the Australian Institute of Sport 2009-2012. Her events are the 100 m breaststroke, 200 m individual medley, 50 m and 100 m freestyle. She competed at the 2011 Para Pan Pacific Championships in Edmonton, where she won a gold medal in the S13 400 freestyle event. She competed at the 2008 Summer and 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Kayla Clarke is an Indigenous Australian swimmer who represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in swimming, and has medalled at the 2010 Australian Disability Age Group Nationals, and 2010 International Paralympic Swimming World Championships, 2009 Queensland State Championships, 2009 Queensland Secondary School Titles, and 2009 Global Games. She competes in a number of events, including the 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley.
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.
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.
