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Greg Smith (Paralympian)

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Greg Smith
2012 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Smith
Personal information
Full nameGregory Stephen Smith
NationalityAustralian
Born (1967-08-19) 19 August 1967 (age 57)
Ballarat, Victoria
Sport
Disability classT51, T52, 2.0 (Wheelchair rugby)
Medal record
Athletics
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Men's 800 m T52
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Men's 1500 m T52
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Men's 5000 m T52
Silver medal – second place 1992 Barcelona Men's 4x100 m Relay TW1–2
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Men's 5000 m T51
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Barcelona Men's Marathon TW2
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Barcelona Men's 4x400 m Relay TW1–2
World Championships and Games for the Disabled
Gold medal – first place 1990 Assen Men's 4x100 m Relay T1
IPC Athletics World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1994 Berlin Men's 5000 m T51
Gold medal – first place 1998 Birmingham Men's 800 m T52
Gold medal – first place 1998 Birmingham Men's 1500 m T52
Gold medal – first place 1998 Birmingham Men's 5000 m T52
Gold medal – first place 1998 Birmingham Men's Marathon T52
Wheelchair rugby
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Mixed
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Mixed

Gregory Stephen Smith, OAM[1] (born 19 August 1967) 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. Since 2018, he has been the Assistant Coach of the Australian Steelers.

Personal

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Smith was born on 19 August 1967 in the Victorian city of Ballarat.[2] He broke his neck in a car accident in 1987 while he was a physical training instructor with the Australian Army. The accident left him with little movement from the chest down. He went through one and a half years of gruelling rehabilitation but his life became active again in 1988 after another patient lent him a racing wheelchair.[3]

Athletics career

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Action shot of Smith (right)) on his way to winning gold in the 800 m T52 at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics
Smith waves to the crowd as he celebrates his gold medal in the 5000 m T52 at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics

Smith won a gold medal in the men's 4x100 m T1 at the World Championships and Games for the Disabled in Assen, Netherlands.[4] He then began his long Paralympic career with a silver medal in the men's 4x100 m relay TW1–2, and bronze medals in the men's marathon TW2 and the men's 4x400 m relay TW1–2 at the 1992 Barcelona Games. He also competed in the men's 800 m, 1500 m and 5000 m TW2 events.[5] In 1992, he held a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport in athletics.[6] That year, he finished fourth in the 10 km road race at the 1992 Oz Day race.[6] In 1995, he was awarded an Australian Institute of Sport Athletes with a Disability non-residential scholarship which he held until 2000.[7]

At the 1996 Atlanta Games, Smith won a silver medal in the men's 5000 m T51. He also competed in the men's 400 m, 1500 m and marathon in T51 events.[5] Smith won three gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Games in the men's 800 m T52, men's 1500 m T52 and men's 5000 m T52 events,[8] for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia.[1] He also competed in the men's marathon T52.[5] At the 1998 IPC Athletics World Championships in Berlin, he won four gold medals in the men's 800 m, men's 1500 m, men's 5000 m and the men's marathon.[9]

Wheelchair Rugby career

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Smith playing wheelchair rugby at the 2012 London Paralympics
Smith wraps himself in the Australian Flag outside Cardiff Castle after the announcement that he will be the 2012 Australian Flag Bearer
The ceremony on 21 August where Smith was announced as 2012 Australian Flag Bearer for the Australian Paralympic Team

Smith retired from wheelchair athletics in 2002. After a two-year break, he took up wheelchair rugby socially and at the end of his first season he won the New South Wales State League Most Valuable Player Award and the National League Best New Talent.[10] In 2006, he represented Australia for the first time in wheelchair rugby at the Canada Cup International Tournament. He was a member of the Australian mixed team that won the silver medal in wheelchair rugby at the 2008 Beijing Games . After Beijing, he retired as a player but continued as an assistant coach. He came out of retirement in 2010 and was re-selected to the Australian squad in 2011.[3] He was the Australian flag bearer at the 2012 London Games,[11] and was part of the team that won the gold medal.[12] He retired after the Games but still has an active interest in the sport.[13]

Since 2018, he has been the Assistant Coach of the Australian Steelers.

Recognition

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Smith, Gregory Stephen". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  2. ^ Xth Paralympic Games Atlanta U.S.A. August 15–25 1996 : Australia : team handbook. Sydney: Australian Paralympic Federation. 1996.
  3. ^ a b "Greg Smith Profile". Australian Paralympic Committee Website. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  4. ^ World Championships and Games for the Disabled – Athletics Results. Netherlands: Organising Committee. 1990.
  5. ^ a b c "Greg Smith". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  6. ^ a b Barcelona Paralympics 1992 : Australian team members profile handbook. Glebe, New South Wales: Australian Paralympic Federation. 1992. 20779.
  7. ^ Excellence : the Australian Institute of Sport. Canberra: Australian Sports Commission. 2002. ISBN 1-74013-060-X.
  8. ^ "Australian Honour Roll". Australian Paralympic Committee Annual Report 2010. Australian Paralympic Committee: 10. 2010.
  9. ^ "Track and Field Achievements". Australian Sports Commission. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012.
  10. ^ Brine, Dominic. "Not just sitting on his bum". ABC Ballarat, 11 September 2008. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Paralympians told to 'look up at the stars'". ABC News. 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Mixed Wheelchair Rugby – Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby". Official site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Dr Smith in a class of his own". Australian Paralympic Committee. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
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