 2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Australian | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 25 February 1981 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Sailing | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | 2.4mR class | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Matthew Bugg (born 25 February 1981) is an Australian sailor. He represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the 2.4mR class sailing event. He won a bronze medal at the 2015 IFDS World Championships. [1] He won a silver medal in the 2.4mR at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. [2] [3]
Bugg was born on 25 February 1981, [4] and is from Lindisfarne, Tasmania. [4] [5] He is a paraplegic as a result of a snowboarding accident when he was twenty-three years old. [4] While attending a TAFE in Australia, he earned a Certificate III course in Commercial Cooking. As of 2012 [update] , he works as a chef. [4]
Bugg is a sailor, [4] and is a member of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania. [4] [6] He is coached by Richard Scarr, who does double duty as the head coach of Tasmanian State Sailing Performance Program. [7]
Bugg started sailing in 1993. [4] He first represented Australia in 2010 at the Netherlands hosted World Cup, [4] went on to compete in Europe with others on the Paralympic team. [5] At the Hobart hosted 2010 national championship in the International 2.4 metre class, with sixteen points, Bugg came in fifth in his first time competing in the event. [5] [6] In his third race in the event, his father's boat collided with his. [5]
At the 2011 national championship in the International 2.4 metre class, Bugg came in first. [6] [7] He claimed the title a month after turning 30. [6] His title was also the first time a non-Canberran won the International 2.4 metre class at the event. [6] [7] His race competitors included his father and Peter Thompson who won gold in sailing at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. [5] [8] In May 2011, he competed in sailing events in Europe, [6] with Yachting Australia footing part of the bill for his travels. [8] At the 2011 world championships at Weymouth, England, he finished fifteenth. [7] In July 2011, he was ranked fifth in the world. [7] In 2011, Sailing Tasmania honoured him with the Sailor of the Year with a Disability Award. [9]
Bugg competed in the 2012 IFDS World Championships, finishing eleventh overall in the 2.4mR fleet event following daily finishes of tenth, fifth and eighth. [4] [10] It was his third time competing in the event. [10] Ahead of the 2012 Paralympic Games, he was a member sailing development squad [8] and was ranked fifth in the world. [4] He qualified for the Games in April 2012 [11] and was officially selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in sailing in the single person 2.4m keelboat class. [11] He was 31 years old at the Games. [11] He did not medal at the 2012 Games.[ citation needed ] At the 2014 IFDS World Championships in Halifax, Canada, he finished fifth in 2.4mR event. [12] In November 2014, Bugg shared the Yachting Australia Sailor of the Year with a Disability award with Daniel Fitzgibbon, Liesl Tesch, Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden. The Australian team of six sailors beat Great Britain by one point at the IFDS World Championship. [13]
At the 2015 IFDS World Championship in Melbourne, Australia, he won the bronze medal in the 2.4m class. [1] In January 2016, he won the silver medal at the International 2.4mR World Championships held on Hobart’s Derwent River. [14]
Bugg won the bronze medal in 2.4 Norlin at the 2016 World Championships held in Medemblik, Netherlands. [15] At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Bugg won the silver medal in 2.4 Norlin. He was leading the event until he fell back from the gold medal position after being disqualified in race 10 of 11. [3] Bugg's performances in 2016 led him to being named 2016 Tasmanian Athlete of the Year. [16]
World Sailing (WS) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The International 2.4mR is a one-person keelboat. The class is a development class governed by the 2.4mR rule. The rule controlled by World Sailing is one of the few classes designated as an International Class. The International 2.4mR Class rule is closely related to the International 12mR class rule that was used at the America's Cup.
The SKUD 18 is a class of racing sailing boat. It is a lead-assisted skiff with a tube-launched asymmetrical and a modern high performance stayed rig. The boat was created for trials held by the International Association for Disabled Sailing who were looking for a new two person boat for an additional medal allocated to sailing for the 2008 Paralympics.
The International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) was an affiliate member of the International Sailing Federation and was responsible for coordinating the paralympic sailing competition with the International Paralympic Committee. The organisation was initially called the International Foundation for Disabled Sailing up until around 2008 when it had to change its name due to tax law in the country it is registered in.
Liesl Dorothy Tesch AM is an Australian wheelchair basketball player, sailor, and politician. She is a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing Gosford since the 2017 Gosford state by-election.
Colin Anthony Harrison is an Australian Paralympic sailor. He won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, and the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in the Three Person Sonar.
Russell Boaden is a Paralympic sailor from Australia. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, and a won a gold medal in the Mixed Three Person Sonar the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Daniel Fitzgibbon, is an Australian Paralympic sailor, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. He won gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics with partner Liesl Tesch in the two person SKUD 18.
Alexandra Rickham is a British Paralympic sailor.
Sailing at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London was held from August in Weymouth and Portland. XYZ competitors representing XYZ countries will compete in three keelboat classes - the 2.4mR, the SKUD 18, and the Sonar, took part in sailing in the 2008 Summer Paralympics.
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Stephen Andrew Churm is an Australian sailor. He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in sailing. He did not medal at the 2012 Games.
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Sailing was added to the Summer Paralympic Games competition schedule at the 2000 Sydney Games. Australia has been represented since 2000 Games. In 2015, the International Paralympic Committee announced that sailing would be one of two sports dropped from the summer Paralympic Games program at the 2020 Tokyo Games. The parent body for sailing internationally, World Sailing, has stated its intention to seek re-inclusion on the summer Paralympic program at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Tasmania, an island and state of Australia, has been represented on the Australian Paralympic team since 1980. The greatest number of Tasmanian representatives was four at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics.
Niki James Birrell is a British Paralympic sailor. Alongside Alexandra Rickham, he has won four IFDS World Championship titles and in the 2012 Summer Paralympics the pair took the bronze medal in the SKUD 18 two person keelboat class.
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Per Eugen Kristiansen is a Norwegian sailor from Bekkestua who won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the Sonar class, together with Marie Solberg and Aleksander Wang-Hansen. He has sailed since he was 7. In 1994, he was involved in a climbing accident, and since then has been reliant on a wheelchair. Nine months later, he was an active sailor again. In 1998, he competed for the first time after a disabled sailor invited him to an event, and from then on, he has been an active regatta sailor. In January 2012, he won the World Sailing Championship in Florida.
