Kurt Fearnley

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Born in the small Western NSW town of Carcoar, Kurt is the youngest of five children and sport was always a big part of the family’s life. Amazingly oblivious to his disability, he happily played in everything against his able-bodied brothers and mates. Kurt remembers competing at school athletics carnivals. As the others ran, he pushed his everyday wheelchair as fast as he could down the grass track – an incredible feat by any stretch of the imagination. Following an introduction to wheelchair sports and basketball in particular, Kurt made the decision to focus solely on wheelchair racing and within four years he was representing his country at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. Here, Kurt pushed the race of his life and won a silver medal in the 800m, instantly gaining the respect of the world’s best racers. Fast forward four years to the Paralympic Games in Athens and the making of a champion. Kurt won gold in the 5000m and then pushed the gruelling 42km only two days later to win his second Paralympic gold in the toughest marathon in Paralympic history. What made this victory even more remarkable was the fact that Kurt pushed the last 5km on a flat tyre! Following this success, Kurt has travelled the world extensively competing in some of the world’s most exclusive events and is now regarded as one of the best wheelchair racers in the world. Kurt’s recent outstanding win in the New York Marathon and his three gold’s and one bronze medal haul at the 2006 IPC World Athletics Championships assure us that there is much to look forward to in Beijing. Kurt Fearnley OAM is a wheelchair racer, who competes at the Olympic level. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he finished 5th in the demonstration sport of Men's 1500m wheelchair. Following this he won Gold in the 5000m and Marathon at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.

In 2007 Fearnley won 10 International Marathons from 11 starts breaking 6 course records along the way.

In addition, he won the 2006 and 2007 New York City Marathons, wheelchair division.