Tracy Barrell

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Tracy Barrell
Personal information
Full name Tracy Lee Barrell
Nationality  Australia
Born 1974?

Tracy Lee Barrell, OAM[1] is a triple congenital amputee Paralympic swimmer from Australia. She won two gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona Games. She is a strong advocate for people with disabilities

Personal

Barrell was born without legs and with only one arm.[2] Barrell stated that doctors said her disability was due to genetic mutation from an anti morning sickness pill that mother Terri had taken.[3] Barrell sat on a skateboard and used her one arm for her mobility as a child.[3] She decided not to use prosthetic legs.[3] She attended St Patrick's College, Sutherland in Sydney, New South Wales.[4] She has two sons - Bryce and Oscar.[3]

Sporting career

In 1989, at the age of 14, her mother enrolled her with the NSW Amputee Sporting Association and she commenced her swimming career.[3] She was coached by Mick Maroney.[3] Her first major competition was the NSW State Games held at Narrabeen Sports Centre where she won gold in four swimming events and two athletics throwing events.[2] Her results led her to being award the Athlete of the Games. She was classified as a S4 swimmer.[4] She won two gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona Games in the Women's 4x50 m Freestyle S1-6 event and the Women's 50 m Butterfly S3-4 event and finished fourth in two individual events.[5] She retired in 1994 due to injury and surgery to her only arm.[2] In 2008, she represented Australia at the Shanghai Women’s Sitting Volleyball Tournament.[6]

Advocacy

Since her retirement from sport, she has been a strong advocate for opportunities for people with a disability.[6] Between 2008 to 2011, she was an ambassador for Don't DIS my ABILITY, a program that provides inspirational role models for people with disabilities. In 2013, she was appointed as a Living Life My Way Ambassadors and Champions by the New South Wales Government. In 2011, she denied access to all rides at Movie World Studios due to a change in their safety policy. In previous visits, she was able to access all the rides.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Barrell, Tracy Lee". It's an Honour. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Tracy Barrell". One of Me. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Barrell is proof that dreams can come true.". That's Life website. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Courage, determination pave Tracy's golden path to Spain More than 'mucking around' in the water". Canberra Times. 12 July 1992. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Ambassadord 2009". Don't DIS my ABILITY website. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Paralympian Movie World Embarrasment". Parkz website. Retrieved 6 February 2015.