 Barrell in 1992 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  Australia | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 1974 (age 50–51) New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Tracy Lee Barrell, OAM (born 1974) is a triple congenital amputee Paralympic swimmer from Australia. She won two gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona Games. She is a strong advocate for people with disabilities and an indigenous Australian.
Barrell was born in 1974 in New South Wales. [1] From birth she had no legs and only one arm. [2] Barrell stated that doctors said her disability was a congenital malformation resulting from exposure to an anti morning sickness pill that her mother Terri had taken. [1] Barrell sat on a skateboard and used her one arm for her mobility as a child. [1] She decided not to use prosthetic legs. [1] She attended St Patrick's College, Sutherland in Sydney. [3] [4]
She got married in February 1995 to Steve and got divorced 3 years later. [1] She has two sons with her new partner Brad – Bryce (2001) and Oscar (2004). She separated from her partner and raised the children as a single mother. [1]
In 1989, at the age of 14, her mother enrolled her with the NSW Amputee Sporting Association and she commenced her swimming career. [1] She was coached by Mick Maroney and later by Greg Hodge. [1] [4] Her first major competition was the NSW State Games held at Narrabeen Sports Centre where she won gold in four swimming events and two athletics throwing events. [2] Her results led her to being award the Athlete of the Games. She was classified as a S4 swimmer. [3]
Thanks to her mother, who sold their farm to get tickets to Spain, she took part in the 1992 Barcelona Games. [1] She won two gold medals at the Paralympics in the Women's 4x50 m Freestyle S1-6 event and the Women's 50 m Butterfly S3-4 event and finished fourth in two individual events. [5]
In 1993, for her sporting achievements, including those at the Paralympic Games, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). [6] [7]
She retired from swimming in 1994 due to injury and surgery to her only arm. [2]
In 2008, she represented Australia at the Shanghai Women's Sitting Volleyball Tournament. [8]
Since her retirement from sport, she has been a strong advocate for opportunities for people with a disability. [8] Between 2008 and 2015, she was an ambassador for Don't DIS my ABILITY, a program that provides inspirational role models for people with disabilities. [1] [9] [10]
In 2011, she was denied access to all rides at Movie World Studios due to a change in their safety policy. In previous visits, she was able to access all the rides. [11]
In 2013, she was appointed as a Living Life My Way Ambassadors and Champions by the New South Wales Government. [12]
Barrell has indigenous heritage. In 2015, she was a spokesperson for First Peoples Disability Network and on December 3rd she took part in a celebration of indigenous Paralympians at National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Sydney. [13]
