McIntosh was born on 13 July 1990 in Geelong, the youngest of three children to Glenn and Jenny McIntosh. He attended St. Thomas Primary School in Drysdale. In his youth, Sam showed an interest in individual sports and activities, such as swimming, karate, and BMX bike riding. Sam swam at the state level and at the Victorian Country LC Championships. Sam graduated with a VCE from Saint Ignatius College Geelong in 2008 after returning to school post-accident.
The Accident
In 2007, while riding a BMX bike on a family holiday in Coffs Harbour, he had an accident that left him a C6 quadriplegic.[5][6][7][8]
While in rehabilitation, he was visited by a school friend's sister, fellow Paralympian, Jemima Moore, who encouraged him to explore para sport. Following his accident, he initially played wheelchair rugby.[7][6]
On 31 December 2011, on a dance floor, his neck was broken for a second time. He spent two weeks in hospital and three months doing rehabilitation before he was able to continue his athletics career.[5] With six months between him and the 2012 London Paralympics, Sam was determined to recover, get back to training and represent his county. He succeeded.
Athletics
McIntosh at the 2012 London Paralympics
McIntosh is a T52 classified athlete who competes in the 100 metre, 200 metre and 400 metre events.[8]
McIntosh switched from wheelchair rugby to athletics following a meeting with Kaye Colman, the mother of Richard Colman.[7][6] He started competing in 2009.[9] In 2010, he was coached by Mandi Cole.[6] That year, he was able to purchase a racing wheelchair that fit him better.[9] At the 2011 Australian National Titles, he earned a gold medal in the 100 metre event, and a silver medal in the 200 metre event.[7]
Sam became ill after arriving in Rio for the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Although he was ill, he insisted on racing in the T52 100m event and he finished in fourth place.[10] Just after crossing the finish line for the T52 100m finals, Beat Bösch mistakenly drifted into his lane and crashed into him. Sam was upturned on the track and his racing chair was badly damaged. A medical team attended to him and due to health concerns and a concussion from the crash, Sam withdrew from the upcoming 400m event.
At the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, UAE, he finished third in his 100m T52 heat, pushing him through to the finals where he placed sixth with a time of 17.69s, tying his season best. This time was fast enough to make him eligible to be selected for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics (official selections have yet to be made).
1 2 "Sam McIntosh". Australian Athletics Historical Results. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Evan George O'Hanlon, is an Australian Paralympic athlete, who competes mainly in category T38 sprint events. He has won five gold medals at two Paralympic Games – 2008 Beijing and 2012 London. He also represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, winning a silver medal and a bronze medal respectively. In winning the bronze medal in the Men's 100m T38 at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, O'Hanlon became Australia's most successful male athlete with a disability. His bronze medal took him to 12 medals in five world championships – one more than four-time Paralympian Neil Fuller.
Jemima Moore is a Paralympian athlete from Australia competing mainly in category T53-54 4 x 100 metres relay events. She represented Australia at the 2008 Beijing and 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Rheed McCracken is an Australian Paralympic athletics competitor. He named the 2012 Junior Athlete of the Year as part of the Australian Paralympian of the Year Awards. He represented Australia at the 2012 London Paralympics, 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics, where he won three silver and three bronze medals.
Michael Roeger is an Australian T46 athletics competitor. He competed at the 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Paralympics in athletics in middle distance and marathon running events. He has won one gold, one silver and four bronze medals at the World Para Athletics Championships and a silver and bronze medal at the Paralympics. His gold in the Men's T46 marathon at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships was held as part of the London Marathon, set a new world record.
Rosemary Little is an Australian Paralympic athlete. She won a bronze medal in wheelchair racing at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, and has also competed in handcycling. She competed at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, her third Games, where switched from wheelchair racing to shot put. She competed in the shot put and club throw at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Sam Harding is an Australian Paralympic athlete and paratriathlete. His classification is T12 and competed in 400m and the 800m events. He represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics in athletics and has been selected to compete in paratriathlon at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Scott Peter Reardon, is an Australian Paralympic leg amputee sprinter and water skier. He won water skiing world championships in 2007 and 2009. He represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in athletics, winning a silver medal in the Men's 100 m T42. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he went one placing better to win the gold medal. Reardon has won the Men's 100 m T42 in three consecutive World Para Athletics Championships, from 2013 to 2017. He competed at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, his third games.
Olivia Breen is a Welsh Paralympian athlete, who competes for Wales and Great Britain mainly in T38 sprint and F38 long jump events. She qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics and was selected for the T38 100m and 200m sprint and was also part of the T35-38 women's relay team. She has also represented Wales at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games winning gold in the F38 Long Jump in 2018 and gold in the T37/38 100m in 2022.
The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 July. Around 1,100 athletes competed, from 94 different countries. The event was held in the Stade du Rhône located at the Parc de Parilly in Vénissieux, in Lyon Metropolis.
Jesse Aungles is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo and the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Chad Perris is a vision impaired Australian athlete, born with albinism. He specialises in the 100m and 200m events. He has won two silver and two bronze medals at the World Para Athletics Championships and a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. He also competed at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics. .
Timothy Malcolm Disken, is an Australian paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships and won bronze in the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 100m freestyle S9, a silver medal in the men's S9 50m freestyle and a bronze medal in the men's 200m individual medley SM9. He also competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Braedan Jason is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Samuel Harrison Carter is a Paralympic athlete, who competes in 100m, 200m, 400m T54 events. He has represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Nicholas "Nic" Hum is an Australian Paralympic athlete with an intellectual disability. He won the bronze medal in the men's long jump T20 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan. He competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, his third Games.
James Michael Apsley Turner, is an Australian Paralympic athlete and soccer player with cerebral palsy. He has represented Australia as part of the Australia Paralympic soccer team, the ParaRoos, and was its player of the year in 2013. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he won the Men's 800m T36 in a world record time of 2:02.39. He won a gold and silver medal at the 2020 Toyko Paralympics. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, he won two gold medals including a world record in the 400m T36.
Hamide Kurt Doğangün is a Turkish Paralympian athlete competing in the T53 disability class sprint events of 100m and 400m, T52/T53 class middle-distance event of 800m as well as T53/T54 class 4 × 400 m relay event.
Rhiannon Clarke is an Australian para-athletics competitor who specialises in sprint events. She won two bronze medals at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. She represented Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Ari Gesini is an Australian Paralympic athlete in the T38 class. Ari competes in the long jump and 100m sprint. He made his Paralympic debut at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.
Luke Bailey is an Australian wheelchair racer. He represented Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
