Elaine Annette Schreiber (4 June 1939 – 11 June 2017) was an Australian

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

table tennis player and field games athlete. She contracted

Poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

as a child. Schreiber, who lived most of her life in Armadale Victoria, was a typist / telephonist employed by the St Kilda City Council, St Kilda Victoria. She worked in the Town Clerk's department for 17 years prior to the

1964 Summer Paralympics The , originally known as the 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games and also known as Paralympic Tokyo 1964,

. Australian athletes at these games included quadriplegic

Allan McLucas Alan McLucas is an Australian Paralympian. At the 1964 Tokyo Games, he won a bronze medal in the table tennis men's singles A2 event. At the 1968 Tel Aviv Games, he won a gold medal in the men's slalom cervical class event and a silver medal ...

, the first quadriplegic to compete at International

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

. Schreiber, a member of the Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Association of Victoria, assisted with the fundraising to build a new hostel for quadriplegics to provide better living conditions and care under organised supervision. Schreiber was selected to represent Victoria at the three day event of the Australian Paraplegic Games held in Adelaide, South Australia, September 1964. She was among the first sixteen gold medal athletes from Victoria, winning four gold medals at these games. Her success led to selection of one of only two Victorian athletes of the 15 member Australian team, to compete at the

1964 Summer Paralympics The , originally known as the 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games and also known as Paralympic Tokyo 1964,

. At these games, she won Australia's fourth gold medal in the women's club throw A class event with a throw of 17.31 metres, a silver medal in the women's javelin A event with a throw of 9.26 metres, and a bronze medal in the women's table tennis singles B class event. Schreiber and fellow team member Daphne Hilton were two of only three female athletes who contributed to Australia gaining fourth place in the medal tally behind United Kingdom, USA and Israel, at the

1964 Summer Paralympics The , originally known as the 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games and also known as Paralympic Tokyo 1964,

. At the Fourth Australian Paraplegic Games held in Brisbane Queensland, April 1966, Schreiber won seven gold medals in field events and table tennis, breaking the world record in precision javelin throw. Following these games, Schreiber set her sights on the British Commonwealth Paraplegic Games, held in Kingston, Jamaica in 1966. She competed in table tennis B class singles and D class doubles with Australian Paralympian,

Daphne Ceeney Daphne Jean Hilton (née Ceeney; 7 January 1934 – 25 July 2016) was an Australian Paralympic competitor. She was the first Australian woman to compete at the Paralympic Games. She won fourteen medals in three Paralympics in archery, athleti ...

. In the women's events that followed, competing against the same three athletes, Schreiber won a gold medal in club throw B class (partially paralysed below the waist), with a throw of 63 feet inches, a silver medal in discus B class and a gold medal in javelin B class with a throw of 34 feet 5 inches. At the

1968 Summer Paralympics The 1968 Summer Paralympics ( he, המשחקים הפאראלימפיים בקיץ 1968) were the third Paralympic Games to be held. Organised under the guidance of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), they were known as th ...

, Schreiber won a silver medal in the women's doubles table tennis C class event, with Western Australia athlete Marion O'Brien, but did not win medals in field events at these games. She competed in field events at the

1972 Summer Paralympics The 1972 Summer Paralympics (german: Paralympische Sommerspiele 1972), the fourth edition of the Paralympic Games, were held in Heidelberg, West Germany, from 2 to 11 August 1972. The games ended 15 days before the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Mu ...

winning a bronze medal in javelin throw and a silver medal, also in javelin throw, at the

1976 Summer Paralympics The 1976 Summer Paralympics (french: Jeux paralympiques d'été de 1976), branded as Torontolympiad – 1976 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled, was the fifth Paralympic Games to be held. They were hosted by Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 4 t ...

, and participated in table tennis at the latter games. A member of the Australian team who competed at the Stoke Mandeville Games in the United Kingdom in 1974, Schreiber competed in table tennis, javelin and shot put, winning three silver medals and one bronze. This was the sixth time Schreiber had represented Australia at International Games. In 2000, she was awarded an

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

. Schreiber died on 11 June 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schreiber, Elaine 1939 births 2017 deaths Australian female javelin throwers Australian female table tennis players Club throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Paralympics Paralympic athletes for Australia Table tennis players at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Table tennis players at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Table tennis players at the 1976 Summer Paralympics Paralympic table tennis players for Australia Medalists at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic medalists in table tennis Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Wheelchair category Paralympic competitors Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Wheelchair javelin throwers Paralympic javelin throwers Paralympic club throwers Sportspeople from Melbourne People from Armadale, Victoria Sportswomen from Victoria (state)