Australia at the 1980 Summer Paralympics

Australia at the Paralympic Games
Flag of Australia IPC code  AUS NPC Australian Paralympic Committee
At the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem
Competitors
Medals Rank: 14	Gold 12	Silver 21	Bronze 22	Total 55
Paralympic history (summary)
Summer Games
1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016
Winter Games
1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

Australia competed at the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem, Netherlands. It was the 6th Summer Paralympic game in which Australia competed. Australia won 55 medals – 12 gold, 21 silver and 22 bronze medals. Australia competed in 10 sports and won medals in 6 sports. It finished 14th on the gold medal table and 9th on the total medal table.^[1]

Notable Australian performances were:

• In amputee athletes class:
  • Charmaine Cree winning 5 medals in athletics – 1 gold medal, 1 silver medal and 3 bronze medals^[1]
  • Wayne Lanham winning 2 medals in athletics – 1 gold and 1 silver medal^[1]
  • Gary Gudgeon winning 4 medals in swimming – 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal^[1]
• In vision impaired athletes:
  • Gloria Pascoe winning the only gold medal for blind athletes in lawn bowls.^[1]
  • Carolyn Connors secured two silver medals and a bronze medal in swimming^[1]
  • Bruce Sandilands won a bronze medal in athletics.^[1]
• In spinal cord injury athletes class:
  • Wayne Patchett, an Australian thrower, winning 3 gold medals^[1]
  • Eric Russell won a gold medal and two bronze medals^[1]
  • Michael Nugent won the silver medal in the 400metres, but his most notable performance was the 200metres event when he set a world record that was subsequently as the best individual performance by an Australian wheelchair athlete in 1980^[2]
  • Female shooters Barbara Caspers and Elizabeth Kosmala winning 6 medals between them including 2 gold medals^[1]
• Australian athletics team winning 34 medals out of the 55 medals won by Australia.^[1]

Background

"I encourage all disabled people to follow your example and take an active part in sporting activities" This was the line delivered to the Paralympic team by the Prime minister at the time, Mr Malcolm Fraser. He remarked that "These Olympics are the culmination of many years of dedication and hard work." He congratulated the team "on behalf of the Government and all Australians" and wished them good luck and success. He spoke to the team on June 18 1980 and this was reported on in the national newspaper ‘The Australian’.^[3]

To compete in the 1980 Paralympics in Arnhem, the athletes were required to raise their own funding for travel expenses as there was no governing body in Australia at the time.^[4] One particular wheelchair athlete (Fred Pointer) was reported to be travelling from Melbourne to Sydney in his wheelchair to raise funds. He completed this in a wheelchair he designed his self.^[5]

Team

1980 Australian Amputee Team - Arnhem, Holland

Australia competed in 3 classes of 4 in 10 sports and won medals in six sports. Amputee athletes in Australia did not have a national body but the previous experiences at the Torontolympiad and at the Sydney FESPIC Games provided the impetus for individual athletes to attend Arnhem. There were no selection trials and the 11 athletes who competed had to cover their cost to get and from the Games.^[4] There were also eleven vision-impaired athletes from Australia who attended Arnhem. These athletes had the advantage of a national organisation, formed in the same year as the Arnhem Games, which raised funds and assisted in preparation in participation. The biggest contingent of Australians at Arnhem was athletes with a spinal cord injury and they experienced the most success winning a total of 34 medals. Even though the 1980 Paralympic Games were the first time that cerebral palsy athletes joined spinal cord injury, blind and amputees athletes at the Paralympics, Australia did not have a national organisation and did not send any cerebral palsy athletes.

The team was led by Coach Terry Keneghan.

Medalists

Medal Name Sport Event State Disability 01 ! Gold Lanham, WayneWayne Lanham Athletics Men’s 100 m F ? Amputee 01 ! Gold Nugent, MichaelMichael Nugent Athletics Men’s 200 m 3 QLD Wheelchair 01 ! Gold Patchett, WayneWayne Patchett Athletics Men’s Club throw 1A NSW Wheelchair 01 ! Gold Patchett, WayneWayne Patchett Athletics Men’s Discus throw 1A NSW Wheelchair 01 ! Gold Patchett, WayneWayne Patchett Athletics Men’s Shot put 1A NSW Wheelchair 01 ! Gold Todd, MurrayMurray Todd Athletics Men’s Shot put 2 SA Wheelchair 01 ! Gold Russell, EricEric Russell Athletics Men’s Shot put 3 QLD Wheelchair 01 ! Gold Cree, CharmaineCharmaine Cree Athletics Women’s High jump C NSW Amputee 01 ! Gold Pascoe, GloriaGloria Pascoe Lawn bowls Women's Singles B ? Wheelchair 01 ! Gold Caspers, BarbaraBarbara Caspers Shooting Mixed air rifle kneeling 1A-1C SA Wheelchair 01 ! Gold Kosmala, ElizabethElizabeth Kosmala Shooting Mixed air rifle prone 2-5 SA Wheelchair 01 ! Gold Gudgeon, GaryGary Gudgeon Swimming Men’s 400 m freestyle C-D NSW Amputee 02 ! Silver Nugent, MichaelMichael Nugent Athletics Men’s 400 m 3 QLD Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Trewhella, IanIan Trewhella Archery Men's Short Metric Round tetraplegic ACT Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Lanham, WayneWayne Lanham Athletics Men’s 400 m F ? Amputee 02 ! Silver Hubel, ErichErich Hubel Athletics Men’s 800 m 5 VIC Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Trewhella, IanIan Trewhella Athletics Men’s Pentathlon 1B ACT Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Hobbs, SueSue Hobbs Athletics Women’s 60 m 5 SA Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Hobbs, SueSue Hobbs Athletics Women’s 800 m 5 SA Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Hobbs, SueSue Hobbs Athletics Women’s 1500 m 5 SA Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Cree, CharmaineCharmaine Cree Athletics Women’s Long jump C NSW Amputee 02 ! Silver Russell, JulieJulie Russell Athletics Women’s Pentathlon 3 SA Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Caspers, BarbaraBarbara Caspers Shooting Mixed air rifle 3 positions 1A-1C SA Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Kosmala, ElizabethElizabeth Kosmala Shooting Mixed air rifle 3 positions 2-5 SA Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Kosmala, ElizabethElizabeth Kosmala Shooting Mixed air rifle kneeling 2-5 SA Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Hill, PeterPeter Hill Swimming Men’s 25 m backstroke 1C QLD Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Hill, PeterPeter Hill Swimming Men’s 25 m breaststroke 1C QLD Wheelchair 02 ! Silver Tapscott, CharlieCharlie Tapscott Swimming Men’s 50 m backstroke J TAS Amputee 02 ! Silver Tapscott, CharlieCharlie Tapscott Swimming Men’s 50 m freestyle J TAS Amputee 02 ! Silver Gudgeon, GaryGary Gudgeon Swimming Men’s 100 m backstroke C-D NSW Amputee 02 ! Silver Gudgeon, GaryGary Gudgeon Swimming Men’s 4x50 m individual medley C NSW Amputee 02 ! Silver Connors, CarolynCarolyn Connors Swimming Women’s 100 m butterfly A NSW Vision Impairment 02 ! Silver Connors, CarolynCarolyn Connors Swimming Women’s 100 m freestyle A NSW Vision Impairment 03 ! Bronze Alp, ChrisChris Alp Athletics Men’s 100 m 3 VIC Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze Alp, ChrisChris Alp Athletics Men’s 200 m 3 VIC Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze Oliver, RichardRichard Oliver Athletics Men’s 100 m 4 SA Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze Hubel, ErichErich Hubel Athletics Men’s 100 m 5 VIC Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze Hubel, ErichErich Hubel Athletics Men’s 1500 m 5 VIC Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze Egan, JoeJoe Egan Athletics Men’s 100 m C NSW Amputee 03 ! Bronze Egan, JoeJoe Egan Athletics Men’s 400 m C NSW Amputee 03 ! Bronze Pointer, FredFred Pointer Athletics Men’s 400 m 3 NSW Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze Pointer, FredFred Pointer Athletics Men’s Slalom 3 NSW Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze Sandilands, BruceBruce Sandilands Athletics Men’s 1500 m B VIC Vision Impairment 03 ! Bronze Russell, EricEric Russell Athletics Men’s Discus throw 3 QLD Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze Russell, EricEric Russell Athletics Men’s Pentathlon 3 QLD Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze Ahrens, ReneRene Ahrens Athletics Men’s Discus throw 5 QLD Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze McIntyre, RobertRobert McIntyre Athletics Men’s Slalom 5 VIC Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze Cree, CharmaineCharmaine Cree Athletics Women’s 100 m C NSW Amputee 03 ! Bronze Cree, CharmaineCharmaine Cree Athletics Women’s Discus throw C NSW Amputee 03 ! Bronze Cree, CharmaineCharmaine Cree Athletics Women’s Javelin throw C NSW Amputee 03 ! Bronze Caspers, BarbaraBarbara Caspers Shooting Mixed air rifle standing 1A-1C SA Wheelchair 03 ! Bronze Gudgeon, GaryGary Gudgeon Swimming Men’s 100 m freestyle C-D NSW Amputee 03 ! Bronze Connors, CarolynCarolyn Connors Swimming Women’s 4x50 m individual medley A NSW Vision Impairment 03 ! Bronze Kalms, BarryBarry Kalms Weightlifting Men's lightweight -65 kg amputee QLD Amputee 03 ! Bronze McNicholl, BrianBrian McNicholl Weightlifting Men's middleweight -75 kg paraplegic VIC Wheelchair [1]

Medals by discipline Discipline Total Archery 0 1 0 1 Athletics 8 9 17 34 Darchery 0 0 0 0 Goalball 0 0 0 0 Lawn bowls 1 0 0 1 Wheelchair fencing 0 0 0 0 Shooting 2 3 1 6 Swimming 1 8 2 11 Table tennis 0 0 0 0 Volleyball 0 0 0 0 Weightlifting 0 0 2 2 Wheelchair basketball 0 0 0 0 Total 12 21 22 55

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Events

Archery

Australia represented by:
Men - Dennis Kennedy, Eric Klein, Ian Trewhella
Women – Susan Davies
Australia won a silver medal through Ian Trewhella's performance in Men's short metric round tetraplegic.

Athletics

Australia represented by:
Men – Rene Ahrens, Chris Alp, Rene Andres, Paul Bird, Kevin Bishop, Donald Dann, Joe Egan, Robert Faulkner, Peter Hill, Erich Hubel, Barry Kalms, Wayne Lanham, Peter Marsh, John Martin, Michael McFawn, Robert McIntyre, Jeff McNeil, Brian McNicholl, David McPherson, Kevin Munro, Michael Nugent, Richard Oliver, Wayne Patchett, Fred Pointer, Eric Russell, Bruce Sandilands, John Sheil, Murray Todd, Ian Trewhella, Robert Turner
Women – Charmaine Cree, Sue Hobbs, Julie Langhorne, Pam Nugent, Julie Russell, J. Wilson
^[1] Athletics was Australia's most successful team winning 34 medals - 8 gold, 9 silver and 17 bronze medals.^[1]

Dartchery

Australia represented by:
Men - ?
Women - ? Australia did not win any medals.

Goalball

Australia represented by:
Men - Robert Faulkner, David (Dave) Manera, Robert McIntyre, Bruce Sandilands
Australia did not win a medal.

Lawn Bowls

Australia represented by:
Men – Mike McGuire, N. Hunter, E. Wratten
Women – Gloria Pascoe
Australia won a gold medal through Gloria Pascoe in women's singles B.^[1]

Shooting

Australia represented by:
Women – Barbara Caspers, Elizabeth Kosmala, Gloria Pascoe
Australia won 6 medals - 2 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 1 bronze medal^[1]

Swimming

Australia represented by:
Men - Rene Andres, Paul Bird, Peter Carroll, Gary Gudgeon, Peter Hill, Dennis Kennedy, David (Dave) Manera, David McPherson, Charlie Tapscott
Women – Carolyn Connors, Maureen Pybus
Australia won 11 medals - 1 gold, 8 silver medals and 2 bronze medals. Gary Gudgeon won the gold medal.^[1]

Table Tennis

Australia represented by:
Men – Donald Dann, Peter Marsh, John Martin, John Sheil, Charlie Tapscott
Australia did not win any medals.^[1]

Weightlifting

Australia represented by:
Men – Barry Kalms, Brian McNicholl, John Sheil
Australia won 2 bronze medals.^[1]

Wheelchair Basketball

Australia represented by:
Men - Rene Ahrens, Robert Augustine, Kevin Bishop, Peter Burt, Kevin Coombs, Len Ettridge, Erich Hubel, Robert McIntyre, Brian McNicholl, Kevin Munro, Richard Oliver, Fred Pointer ^[1]

Australian results: United States d Australia 87-36 ; Japan d Australia 77-50 ; Spain d Australia 73-56 ; Australia d Denmark 53-33 ; Great Britain d Australia 62-33 ; Germany d Australia 58-49 ; Australia d Brazil 68-44 ; Australia d Denmark 48-37^[6]

Australia did not win a medal.

See also

• Australia at the Paralympics

Further reading

Several oral histories are available online from Australian athletes who competed at the Games

• Kevin Coombs interviewed by Robin Poke in the Australian Centre for Paralympic Studies oral history project, National Library of Australia, 2009
• Libby Kosmala interviewed by Nikki Henningham in the Australian Centre for Paralympic Studies oral history project, National Library of Australia, 2011
• Paul Bird interviewed by Ian Jobling in the Australian Centre for Paralympic Studies oral history project, National Library of Australia, 2011

References