Impairment Information |
Type of Impairment |
Spinal Cord Injuries |
Origin of Impairment |
Congenital - Genetic |
Classification |
T54 |
Further Personal Information |
Marital status |
Married |
Family |
Wife Sheridan |
Residence |
Newcastle, NSW, AUS |
Occupation |
Athlete, Teacher |
Languages |
English |
Higher education |
Physical Education - Charles Sturt University: Bathurst, NSW, AUS |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He first became involved with the sport at age 14 in his hometown of Carcoar, New South Wales. While he was in high school the town raised money to buy him a chair and send him to the United States to compete. |
Why this sport? |
He realised wheelchair racing was what he wanted to do in the early 1990s while watching the Oz Day 10km race in Sydney, Australia. "I knew that I wanted to be on that start line. I had to be in that race." |
Club / Team |
New South Wales Institute of Sport [NSWIS]: Sydney, NSW, AUS |
Name of coach |
Andrew Dawes |
Coach from which country? |
Australia |
Training Regime |
He began a different training regime in 2013 that saw him replace some of the time he spent on the road with extra work in the gym. |
International / National Debut |
Year |
1999 |
Country |
Australia |
Tournament |
North and Central American Qualification |
Location |
United States |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Swimming, surfing, going to the beach. (ninemsn.com.au, 18 May 2013) |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning the marathon gold at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, despite having to push his chair with a flat tyre for the final five kilometres. Winning gold again at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. (paralympic.org.au, 22 Dec 2009; paralympic.org.au, 04 Aug 2011) |
Most influential person in career |
His coach Andrew Dawes. (paralympic.org.au, 23 Dec 2009) |
Injuries |
At age 17 he suffered a broken sternum [breast bone], nose and leg as a result of being hit by a car during a training session on the road in Switzerland. (paralympic.org.au, 01 Dec 2009) |
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs |
He has a pair of lucky jocks that he has worn in every major marathon since his gold medal at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. (paralympic.org.au, 04 Aug 2011) |
Awards and honours |
He has won numerous awards including the 2009/10 Male Athlete of the Year with a Disability in Australia, the 2009 New South Wales Young Australian of the Year, the 2006 Pierre De Coubertin Award [Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability] and was also presented with the 2004 Male Paralympian of the Year by the Australian Paralympic Committee [APC]. (athletics.com.au, 18 Apr 2010; kurtfearnley.com, 27 Aug 2010, 23 Dec 2009; paralympic.org.au, 23 Dec 2009)
In 2008 he became the first person to win the New York Marathon three times in the men's wheelchair division. He won the race for a fourth successive time in 2009. (paralympic.org.au, 23 Dec 2009, heraldsun.com.au, 18 Nov 2009)
In 2005 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia [OAM] in recognition of his performances at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. (paralympic.org.au, 23 Dec 2009) |
Other information |
IMPAIRMENT
He has lumbar sacral agenesis and was born without the lower portion of his spine. (dailytelegraph.com.au, 22 Jul 2012)
BREAK IN 2013
He decided to withdraw from competing at the 2013 International Paralympic Committee [IPC] Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France, as he wanted a break from competing in another major tournament. "This year [2013] is the best opportunity to spend some time at home and take a break. I hope to defend my Commonwealth Games gold medal from 2010 in Glasgow, before the IPC World Championships in Doha in 2015 and then back to the Paralympic Games in Rio the year after." (paralympic.org.au, 24 May 2013)
COMMUNITY WORK
He has represented a number of charity organisations and is an ambassador for the Day of Difference Foundation [a charity for critically injured children] and for the International Day of People with a Disability. He is also a board member of Australian Volunteers International. When he's not training, he travels across New South Wales teaching physical education to high school children. (kurtfearnley.com, 23 Dec 2009, australianvolunteers.com, 25 Jan 2013)
KOKODA TRAIL, TOWER CLIMB
In November 2009 he completed Papua New Guinea's Kokoda Trail, crawling on his hands for 10 days across the 96km track over mud and rugged terrain. In September 2009 he ascended Sydney Tower [one of the tallest buildings in the Southern Hemisphere] on his hands, going up the 1504 stairs in about 20 minutes. (abc.net.au, 30 Sep 2009; heraldsun.com.au, 18 Nov 2009) |
