Damien Hooper
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Damien Hooper |
| Nationality |
 Australia |
| Born |
5 February 1992 Toowoomba, Queensland |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 80 kg (180 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Boxing |
| Rated at | Light Heavyweight |
| Club | Australian Institute of Spor |
Medal record
| |
Damien Hooper (born 5 February 1992 in Toowoomba, Queensland) is an Australian amateur boxer of Indigenous Australian heritage selected for the 2012 Summer Olympics in the light heavyweight division.[1]
Career
Hooper began boxing at the age of eleven at the suggestion of a local policeman keen to keep the boy out of trouble.[2]
In 2010, he became the first indigenous Australian to win a junior world title when he won the 75 kg category at the Youth Olympics in Singapore. The same year he won a silver medal at the Youth World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan and was selected in the Australian team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. He was an Australian Institute of Sport boxing scholarship holder.
The following year, Hooper stepped up a weight division and into open competition. He returned to Baku for the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships (results) where he made the quarter finals being edged out by Julio Cesar la Cruz 13:14 and earned direct qualification for the London Olympics. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he beat Marcus Browne but lost to the eventual light heavyweight olympic champion Egor Mekhontsev.
Controversy
On 30 July, in London, the Aboriginal light-heavyweight Damien Hooper stepped into the ring for his Olympic bout wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the Australian Aboriginal flag: the same flag now approved to fly on public buildings in Australia. The Australian Olympic Committee demanded he make a public apology. Wearing the shirt was said to have breached the Olympic Charter. "I'm representing my culture, not only my country," said Hooper. "I'm proud of what I did."[3]
References
- ↑ LONDON TIME (1992-02-05). "London 2012 - Damien Hooper". London2012.olympics.com.au. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
- ↑ Indigenous Newslines. Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. January–March 2011. p. 24. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
- ↑ How the chosen ones ended Australia's sporting prowess and revealed its secret past. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.