Todd Hodgetts

Todd Hodgetts

2012 Australian Paralympic Team portrait of Hodgetts
Personal information
Full name Todd Hodgetts
Nickname(s) The Hulk
Nationality Australia
Born 23 March 1988
Launceston, Tasmania
Sport
Country Australia
Sport Athletics
Event(s) Shot Put
Club Newstead Harriers
Coached by Gus Puopolo

Todd Hodgetts, OAM (born 23 March 1988) is an Australian athlete on the autism spectrum who won a gold medal at the 2012 London Paralympics.

Personal

Todd Hodgetts was born on 23 March 1988 in Launceston,[1] and is from Newstead.[2][3][4] He lived in Tasmania until 2011, when he moved to Canberra to improve his chances of making the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[1][5] After the London Games, he relocated to Melbourne.[6] He is studying for a certificate IV in fitness as of 2012.[1]

He has an autism spectrum disorder.[7] Other sports in which he participates include weightlifting.[1]

Athletics

Nicknamed "The Hulk",[8][9] Hodgetts specialises in the shot put.[10][11] He competes in the F20 classification.[1][12] He is coached by Gus Puopolo.[8] He works with a gymnastics coach to help with his balance and conditioning.[12] He is a member of the Newstead Harriers.[3][11]

Hodgetts started competing in athletics in shot put in 1998[1] after his brother brought home a shot put from high school and encouraged him to try it as kind of a joke.[12] At the 2004 Tasmanian Athletics Championships, he competed in the under-18 shot put event where he scored a state record with one of his throws.[11]

Hodgetts made his national team debut in 2005.[1] In 2008, he was the Australian champion in the shot put.[3] He competed at the 2009 Australian national athletics championships in Adelaide.[3] In 2009, at an Athletics South flagship interclub competition, he won the shot put with a distance of 15.43 m.[2] At the 2012 Tasmanian Track and Field Championships, he had a season's best throw of 16.04 m to win the event.[10] At the 2012 Australian Athletics Championships, he set a world record in the shot put.[1][13] At the 2012 London Paralympics, he won a gold medal in the Men's Shot Put F20 event.[14] After the Games, he underwent elbow surgery.[6]

In 2013, Hodgetts relocated to Melbourne to train under throws coach Gus Puoplo. Competing at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France, he won a bronze medal in the Men's Shot Put F20.[6] He was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."[15]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Todd Hodgetts". Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Welsh, Richard (20 December 2009). "Mason squad rules Sport". The Mercury. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Tassie athletes for Adelaide". The Mercury. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  4. ↑ Dutton, Chris (6 June 2012). "Canberra's Paralympic athletes aim for Games glory". Australian Capital Territory: Canberra Times. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  5. ↑ Edwards, Phil (5 April 2012). "Hodgetts throws record". The Examiner. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "#IPC13: Hodgetts adds bronze to London 2012 victory". Athletics Australia News. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  7. ↑ Mounster, Bruce (20 September 2012). "Paralympic hero returns". The Mercury. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Hulk Hodgetts is the man to beat". Australian Paralympic Committee. 18 July 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "VIDEO: Australia's Todd Hodgetts lived up to his nickname "The Hulk" after throwing a world record to claim gold in the F20 shot put final". Australian Paralympic Team Facebook page. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Sprint doubles decided". The Mercury. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Philpott sprints ahead". The Examiner. 11 January 2004. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Landsberg, Jayne (9 July 2012). "Hodgetts stoked about Paralympic selection". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "World Records Fall at Australian Athletics Championships". International Paralympic Committee. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  14. ↑ Todd Hodgetts's profile on paralympic.org. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  15. ↑ "Australia Day honours list 2014: in full". Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.

External links