Has anyone ever taken part in the Olympics AND Paralympics?
Discussion
GreenDog said:
South African swimmer - she was in the ladies 10k swim and then in the paralymics too - 1500m I think
Correct (or at least so far as don't know what distance for the paralympics she was swimming.)Edited by GreenDog on Wednesday 17th September 22:12
Lost half a leg (above the knee?) in a car accident iirc.
There was a New Zealnder woman, Neroli Fairhall, who competed in both the Olympics and the Paralympics...
from Wiki "Neroli Susan Fairhall MBE (born on August 26, 1944 in Christchurch, died June 11, 2006) was a New Zealand athlete, who was the first paraplegic competitor in the Olympic Games.
Following a motorbike accident which paralysed her from the waist down ending her previous athletic career she took up archery and was able to compete in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, shooting for New Zealand. She came 35th. Fairhall was the first paraplegic to compete in the Olympic Games.
Fairhall won gold when archery was first introduced to the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane in 1982.
A national champion for many years, Fairhall won medals and held titles at Paralympics, IPC-Archery World Championships and many international tournaments.
Fairhall, awarded an MBE for services to the sport, competed at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney.
She continued to coach at her Christchurch archery club after retiring from shooting.
She died on 11 June 2006, aged 61, due to illness arising from her disability."
Marla Runyan also competed in both kinds. Again from Wiki... "Marla Runyan (born January 4, 1969 in Santa Maria, California) is a marathon runner who is legally blind. She is a three-time national champions in the women's 5000 metres.
After graduating from Camarillo High School in 1987, Runyan went on to study at San Diego State University, where she began competing in several sporting events: the heptathlon, 200-meter dash, high jump, shot put, 100-meter hurdle, long jump, javelin throw, and the 800-meter run. In 1994 she received her master's degree.
At the 1996 Summer Paralympics, Runyan took silver in the shot put and gold in the pentathlon. Her career as a world-class runner began in 1999 at the Pan American Games, where she won the 1,500-meter race. The next year, she placed eighth in the 1,500-meter in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, making Runyan the first legally blind athlete to compete in the Games and the highest finish by an American woman in that event.
She finished as the top American at the 2002 New York City Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes and 10 seconds to post the second-fastest debut time ever by an American woman.
Arguably Runyan's greatest success came at the Paralympic Games, where she has been a five times gold medallist"
There was also an American bloke, George Eyser, who won a gold medal in gymnastics while competing on a wooden leg at the 1904 Games in St. Louis.
from Wiki "Neroli Susan Fairhall MBE (born on August 26, 1944 in Christchurch, died June 11, 2006) was a New Zealand athlete, who was the first paraplegic competitor in the Olympic Games.
Following a motorbike accident which paralysed her from the waist down ending her previous athletic career she took up archery and was able to compete in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, shooting for New Zealand. She came 35th. Fairhall was the first paraplegic to compete in the Olympic Games.
Fairhall won gold when archery was first introduced to the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane in 1982.
A national champion for many years, Fairhall won medals and held titles at Paralympics, IPC-Archery World Championships and many international tournaments.
Fairhall, awarded an MBE for services to the sport, competed at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney.
She continued to coach at her Christchurch archery club after retiring from shooting.
She died on 11 June 2006, aged 61, due to illness arising from her disability."
Marla Runyan also competed in both kinds. Again from Wiki... "Marla Runyan (born January 4, 1969 in Santa Maria, California) is a marathon runner who is legally blind. She is a three-time national champions in the women's 5000 metres.
After graduating from Camarillo High School in 1987, Runyan went on to study at San Diego State University, where she began competing in several sporting events: the heptathlon, 200-meter dash, high jump, shot put, 100-meter hurdle, long jump, javelin throw, and the 800-meter run. In 1994 she received her master's degree.
At the 1996 Summer Paralympics, Runyan took silver in the shot put and gold in the pentathlon. Her career as a world-class runner began in 1999 at the Pan American Games, where she won the 1,500-meter race. The next year, she placed eighth in the 1,500-meter in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, making Runyan the first legally blind athlete to compete in the Games and the highest finish by an American woman in that event.
She finished as the top American at the 2002 New York City Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes and 10 seconds to post the second-fastest debut time ever by an American woman.
Arguably Runyan's greatest success came at the Paralympic Games, where she has been a five times gold medallist"
There was also an American bloke, George Eyser, who won a gold medal in gymnastics while competing on a wooden leg at the 1904 Games in St. Louis.
Famous Graham said:
Wasn't that accident after her Olympic competition? I was thinking more about someone who was disabled in the Olympics themselves.
Nope. Natalie du Toit came 16th in the Olymic womens 10k outdoor swim, despite having lost a leg. What a fantastic achievement!BBC Sports site said:
South African Natalie du Toit, the first female amputee to take part in the Olympics, finished a highly respectable 16th in 2:00:49.9.
"I went out there and gave it everything, which was my goal," she said. "I had a good race but I'm glad it is over.
"I still have to keep focussed and train for the Paralympics."
.
More about her here http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/7532890.s..."I went out there and gave it everything, which was my goal," she said. "I had a good race but I'm glad it is over.
"I still have to keep focussed and train for the Paralympics."
.
absolutely said:
I know a girl from my original primary school (my Brother's year) who had no arm from the elbow downwards from birth, she was in the paralympic swimming team last time but she has been very ill this year and missed the selection. I think she won a silver or gold last time.
And how about the Olympics?
Famous Graham said:
absolutely said:
I know a girl from my original primary school (my Brother's year) who had no arm from the elbow downwards from birth, she was in the paralympic swimming team last time but she has been very ill this year and missed the selection. I think she won a silver or gold last time.
And how about the Olympics?andmole said:
I seem to remember, (from BBC News), that there was a British woman cyclist who won gold at the paralympics, whose time would have put her 8th in the olympics at the same event!
Anyone else remember hearing this?
I think that she had a problem with her hand(s), so while still a fantastic achievement, your hands don't play a huge part in cycling.Anyone else remember hearing this?
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