 Grunnsund at the 1980 Geilo Winter Games | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Australia |
| Born | 18 March 1959 |
Kyrra Grunnsund OAM [1] (born 18 March 1959) [2] is an Australian Paralympic skier and athlete who has represented his country at five Paralympics, four winter and one summer. He was the first Australian to compete at both the Summer and Winter Paralympics, moving from skiing to athletics in 1992.
Grunnsund is a below-the-knee amputee. [3] In 2000, he was living in the Sydney suburb of Newtown. [4]
Grunnsund is an Australian Paralympic skier and athlete who has represented Australia at five Paralympics, four winter and one summer. [3] He competed in both alpine and cross-country skiing at the 1980 Geilo Paralympics and competed in just alpine skiing at the 1984 Innsbruck, 1988 Innsbruck, and 1992 Tignes-Albertville Winter Paralympics, [5] [6] [7] [8] which was his final Winter Games appearance [7] in the same year he had his first Summer Paralympics appearance. [9] He switched sports in 1992, and then became the first Australian to compete in both the summer and winter Paralympics [9] [10] when he competed in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m races. [5] [11]
As the equivalent of a T44 competitor, he set an Australian national record at the 1992 Games on 12 September with a time of 19:24.28 in the 5,000 metres. [12] He set an Australian Allcomers record two years later on 6 March 1994 in Canberra in the same event with a time of 21:11.94. [12]
Grunnsund received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 1995 [1] and an Australian Sports Medal in 2000. [13]
He was one of fifty-one Australian Paralympians to carry the Olympic torch during the 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay, [14] when he carried it on 14 September 2000, the 99th day of the relay. [15]
Australia has competed in every Winter Paralympics. In 1976, the first Games, Australia's sole competitor was Ron Finneran, but he was not an official entrant. In 1980, Kyrra Grunnsund and Peter Rickards became the first official competitors, in alpine and cross-country skiing. The number of Australian athletes increased to three, five, five and six at the next four games, respectively, and all of the athletes were alpine skiers. The participation decreased to four in 1998 and climbed back up to six in 2002. Australia won its first Winter Paralympic medals in 1992, and has medalled at every games since then. All of the medals have been won in alpine skiing.
Michael John Milton, OAM is an Australian Paralympic skier, Paralympic cyclist and paratriathlete with one leg. With 6 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals he is the most successful Australian Paralympic athlete in the Winter Games.
The 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games, officially known as the I Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), were an international multi-sport event for youths that took place in Innsbruck, Austria, on 13–22 January 2012. They were the inaugural Winter Youth Olympics, a major sports and cultural festival celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games. Approximately 1100 athletes from 70 countries competed. The decision for Innsbruck to host the Games was announced on 12 December 2008 after mail voting by 105 International Olympic Committee (IOC) members. Innsbruck is the first city to host three winter Olympic events, having previously hosted the 1964 Winter Olympics and the 1976 Winter Olympics.
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.
The 1984 Winter Paralympics, then known as The Third World Winter Games for the Disabled, were held in Innsbruck, Austria. The games took place from the 15 until 21 January. Present at these games were 419 athletes from 21 countries, Spain and the Netherlands competing for the first time in the Winter Paralympics, competing in 107 events across 3 sports. The inclusion of Les Austres and Cerebral palsy impairment groups contributing to the distinct increase in athlete participation with the total number of athletes jumping from 229 at Geilo, Norway in 1980.
The 1998 Winter Paralympics were held in Nagano, Japan from 5–14 March 1998. At the Games, Australia was represented by four male alpine skiers. Australia tied for 16th place with Denmark, out of 21 Nations on the overall medal tally. James Patterson, an LW9 standing skier, won Australia's two medals - one gold and one bronze.
John Lindsay, OAM is an Australian Paralympic athlete from Melbourne. He competed in the 1988 Seoul games in distances ranging from 100 m to 800 m, but did not win any medals. At the 1992 Barcelona Games, he won a gold medal in the Men's 200 m TW3 event, for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia, a silver medal in the Men's 100 m TW3 event and a bronze medal in the Men's 400 m TW3 event. That year, he had a Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship. He was also working as a fitness instructor in 1992, held world records in the 100 m and 200 m events, and was ranked 6th in the world in the 400 m. He won a gold medal in the men's athletics 100 m T52 event at the 1996 Summer Paralympics with a time of 15.22, a silver medal in the 200 m T52 event with a time of 27.38, and a bronze medal in the 400 m T52 event with a time of 52.93. At the 2000 Sydney Games, he won a gold medal in the Men's 100 m T53 event, a silver medal as part of the Men's 4x100 m Relay T54 team, and a bronze medal in the Men's 200 m T53 event; he was also part of the Men's 4x400 m Relay T54 team, which was the only one to qualify in its heat, but it did not make it to the finals. At the 2004 Athens Games, he came seventh in the first round of the Men's 100 m T53 event and sixth in the third round of the Men's 200 m T53 event. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder in 1995 and 2000.
Amy Louise Winters, OAM is an arm amputee Australian Paralympic athlete. She won seven medals at three Paralympic Games, including five gold medals.
Following the success of the first ever 1976 Winter Paralympics in Örnsköldsvik four years earlier, Norway was selected to host the Paralympic Games in 1980.
Australia sent a delegation to compete at the 1988 Winter Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria, which was held between 17–24 January 1988. This marked the nation's fourth appearance at the Winter Paralympics. The delegation sent a group of five alpine skiers as they wouldn't get a medal in these games.
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.
Gregory Neil Hartung AO is a leading Australian and international sport administrator. He has an extensive and distinguished career in sport particularly in terms of administration and journalism. He was President of the Australian Paralympic Committee from 1997 to 2013 and served as vice-president of the International Paralympic Committee 2009–13.
Anton James Flavel, OAM is an Australian athlete with an intellectual disability. He was born in the Western Australian town of Narrogin. In his disability class he held a world record for the javelin and an Australian record in the shot put and high jump.
Ramon (Ray) Gary Epstein, is an Australian Paralympic weightlifter and powerlifting coach. He represented Australia in weightlifting at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Paralympics and was Head Coach of the Australian Paralympic powerlifting team between 2003 and 2013.
Ronald James Finneran OAM is an Australian Paralympic athlete and sports administrator, from Merimbula, New South Wales.
Adrienne Mary Elise Smith OAM was a leading Australian sport administrator. She played a significant role in the establishment of the Australian Paralympic Federation in 1990.
Para-alpine skiing classification is the classification system for para-alpine skiing designed to ensure fair competition between alpine skiers with different types of disabilities. The classifications are grouped into three general disability types: standing, blind and sitting. Classification governance is handled by International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing. Prior to that, several sport governing bodies dealt with classification including the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD), International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMWSF), International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) and Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA). Some classification systems are governed by bodies other than International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing, such as the Special Olympics. The sport is open to all competitors with a visual or physical disability. It is not open to people with intellectual disabilities.
Paul Bird, OAM is an Australian athlete, swimmer, Paralympic gold and silver medalist, and sports administrator.
Australia sent a team of 12 athletes and three guides to the 2018 Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang, Korea. Australia finished 15th on the medal table and it was its fourth best medal performance at the Winter Paralympics.
| Authority control databases: People |
|---|
