Natalie Smith
 2016 Australian Paralympic Team Portrait | ||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Australia | |||||||||
| Born | 23 April 1975 | |||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||
| Country | Australia | |||||||||
| Sport | Shooting | |||||||||
Medal record
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Natalie Smith (born 23 March 1975) is an Australian Paralympic shooter. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, she won a bronze medal. She also represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.[1]
Personal
Smith was born on 23 March 1975.[2] She was originally from Fitzgibbon, Queensland.[3] When she was 34 years old, she had an accident while hiking that left her a paraplegic.[2][4] Prior to her accident, she was a skydiver and equestrian rider.[4] She is married to Stuart and in 2014 she gave birth to a son Daniel. [5]
Shooting is a family sport, as her grandfather is Norman Lutz who was supposed to represent Australia at the 1956 Summer Olympics but ultimately missed the Games because of a heart attack.[4] She lives in Brisbane and works as a nurse. [5]
Shooting
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Smith is an SH1 classified shooter competing in 10m Air Rifle Prone and 10m Air Rifle Standing events.[2][6]
Smith started competitive shooting in 2010 following an Australian Paralympic Committee talent search.[2] She made the Australian Paralympic shooting shadow team in 2011.[7] At the 2011 IPC World Cup meet in Fort Benning, she won a gold medal in the SH1 standing air rifle event.[2] In the process, she set an Australian record.[4]
She was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in shooting.[2][6][8] The Games were her first.[3] There she participated in the Women's 10 m Air Rifle standing SH1 and Mixed 10 m Air Rifle prone SH1 – winning a bronze in the 10 m Air Rifle standing.[9]
In November 2015 at the International Paralympic Committee World Cup in Fort Benning, United States, she won the gold medal in the R8 SH1 3 Position rifle event and set a new Australian record of 576 in qualification.[10]
In 2015, she has a scholarship with the Queensland Academy of Sport.[11]
In the 2016 Rio Paralympics she represented Australia in four rifle events although did not win a medal, her best result was 5th overall in the Women's R2-10m Air Rifle Standing - SH1.[12]
References
- ↑ "Six Australian shooters to target Paralympic gold in Rio". Australian Paralympic Committee News. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wednesday, August 15, 2012 (1975-04-23). "Coles and VIS present Gateway to London | Natalie Smith | Paralympic Athletes". Victorian Institute of Sport. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
- 1 2 "Paralympic shooters on target for London". Ausshooting.org. 2012-08-06. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
- 1 2 3 4 Hewitt, Sue. "Former Northern Hospital nurse shoots for Games gold". Northern Weekly. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
- 1 2 "Natalie Smith". International Paralympic Committee profile. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- 1 2 "Natalie Smith". Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ↑ Alston, Josh (2011-07-27). "Smith's sights set on London Paralympics". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
- ↑ "Kosmala on target for 11th Games -". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 2012-05-22. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
- ↑ Results for Natalie Smith from the International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ↑ "Smith smashes Australian record en route to gold". Australian Paralympic Committee News, 5 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ↑ "Natalie Smith". Queensland Academy of Sport. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ↑ "Natalie Smith Profile and Results". 2016 Rio Paralympics Website. Retrieved 9 November 2016.