Neil Fuller
Neil Fuller (* 1970 ), OAM , is an Australian athlete who has won numerous medals at Paralympic Games .
Football career
Originally Fuller was a budding young professional in Australian football and in 1987 was one of South Australia's selection at the National Youth Soccer Championships. Two weeks after the tournament, he was substituted on in a game in the final minutes and a little later unlucky enough to be fouled by an opponent. During this action, Fuller broke both the calf and shin of his right leg. The splintered bones severed an artery. In the following three weeks he underwent five operations in the hospital, but they were unsuccessful. Eventually the lower part of the leg had to be amputated.
Further career
After his hospital stay, he received a lower leg prosthesis and began to train athletics . Within a very short time he developed into one of the best sprinters in his country. In 1992 he took part in the Summer Paralympics for Australia for the first time in Barcelona and competed there under the classification amputee ( T44 ). He won one gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
In the 1990s, Fuller was in his classification the dominant athlete on the sprint courses and was able to achieve numerous victories at other Paralympic Games, but also at world championships. From 1994 to 2002 he participated in all world championships held by the International Paralympic Committee . He also took part in the 2001 World Athletics Championships for the Disabled of the International Association of Athletics Federations in Edmonton .
In recognition of his achievements, Neil Fuller was named the flag bearer of the Australian team at the closing ceremony of the Summer Paralympics in Sydney.
Awards
Due to his very good athletic performance over a long period of time, Fuller has received various honors over the years:
- 1992: Order of Australia Medal
- 1994: South Australian Young Achiever of the Year
- 1996: City of Salisbury Young Citizen of the Year
- 1997: Induction into the Athletics South Australia Hall of Fame
- 1998: Paralympian Male of the Year
- 2000: Australian Sports Medal
- 2001: Excellence Award from the Australian Institute of Sport
- 2002: Admitted to the list of the 21 best athletes of all time by the Australian Institute of Sport
Records
- Long jump : 5.98 m (August 29, 1997, Duderstadt ), world record
- 100 meters : 11.42 s (August 31, 1997, Duderstadt ), current Australian record
- 800 meters : 2: 14.44 min (May 28, 1998, San Diego ), world record, current Australian record
- 400 meters : 51.89 s (October 30, 1999, Sydney ), world record, current Australian record
- 4 × 100 meters : 43.56 s (March 24, 2000, Sydney ), current world record
- 4 × 400 meters : 3: 32.44 min (October 24, 2000, Sydney ), world record
- 200 meters : 22.78 s (October 25, 2000, Sydney ), current Australian record
Web link
- Neil Fuller in the database of Athletics Australia (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fuller, Neil |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian athlete |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1970 |