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Paralympic Over Achievers

 

Mar 18, 2010 / 11:03:30 AM


Toby Kane in action. Image - Getty Images

Australia's paralympic athletes are a collection of high achievers, quite apart from representing Australia at sport's highest level - with numerous titles and medals amongst them - the nine men and two women can offer up quite an incredible list of accomplishments that are all the more astounding considering they spend a great deal of their time training and competing.


Shannon Dallas in Torino 2006. Image - Courtesy Shannon Dallas

In their spare time this is what the athletes get up to:

Cameron Rahles-Rahbula - physiotherapist
Bart Bunting - IT manager
Toby Kane -studying medical science
Marty Mayberry - studying medicine
Nicholas Watts - studying biomedical engineering
Mitchell Gourley - just graduated from high school
Jessica Gallagher - Osteopath, current Oceania record holder for Long Jump and Shot Put, National Discus, Long Jump and Shot Put records holder, selected for the 2008 Beijing Summer Paralympics
Dominic Moneypenny - research chemist, Phd in organic chemistry, 2008 Beijing Summer Paralympics competitor (rowing)
James Millar - just completed a landscape architecture degree
Melissa Perrine - studying exercise science

It takes a certain personality type to commit to the demands of elite level sport, a determined personality that's clearly being exhibited in the Australian Paralympic team.


Jessica Gallagher's bronze medal winning run. Image - Getty Images

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