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Jamie Barry Dunross, OAM (born 28 August 1965) is an Australian sailor who won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics.
Personal
Dunross was born in Melbourne on 28 August 1965. A former miner, he became aquadriplegic
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...
after an explosion at a gold mine in Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...
. He cannot use his legs, and has very restricted use of his arms. Jamie had depression for five years after the accident, and his passion for sailing helped him to recover from it. He has two children.
Career and aftermath
In 2000, in preparation for the 2000 Sydney Games, Dunross won the North American championship in the Mixed Three PersonSonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
event in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
with Noel Robins
David Noel Robins, OAM (3 September 1935 – 22 May 2003) was an Australian sailor. He began sailing as a child, and became partially quadriplegic after receiving a spinal fracture from a car crash at the age of 21. He was the sk ...
and Graeme Martin. At the Sydney Games, Jamie won a gold medal with Robins and Martin again in the Mixed Three Person Sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
event, in which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
for his 'service to sport'. He also participated in the Mixed Three Person Sonar event at the 2004 Athens Games
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
, but did not win a medal. In 2010, Dunross became the first person with quadriplegia to circumnavigate around Australia unassisted.
On 9 August 2016, his 2000 Paralympic gold medal was stolen during a burglary at the Royal Perth Yacht Club
The Royal Perth Yacht Club (RPYC) is a yacht club in Perth, Western Australia. It is the third oldest yacht club in Australia after the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria and the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.
. He said he was devastated by the theft. "I was really shocked, actually quite numb. All of a sudden the memories started flowing back from 2000 ... getting the medal put around my neck, and to think that I might not see it again, it really did hit home", he said. He also stated that if the medal was returned, it would go back on display at the Royal Perth Yacht Club.
In 2020, Dunross along with Noel Robins
David Noel Robins, OAM (3 September 1935 – 22 May 2003) was an Australian sailor. He began sailing as a child, and became partially quadriplegic after receiving a spinal fracture from a car crash at the age of 21. He was the sk ...
and Graeme Martin were inducted into the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.
References
Australian male sailors (sport) Paralympic sailors of Australia Sailors at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Sailors at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Single-handed sailors Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in sailing People with tetraplegia Wheelchair category Paralympic competitors Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sportspeople from Melbourne 21st-century Australian people 1965 births Living people {{Australia-Paralympic-medalist-stub