Francis Ettore Ponta (8 November 1935 – 1 June 2011) 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 ...

competitor and coach. He competed in several sports including basketball, pentathlon, swimming and fencing. A paraplegic, he lost the use of both his legs after a tumour was removed from his

spinal column The vertebral column, also known as the backbone or spine, is part of the axial skeleton. The vertebral column is the defining characteristic of a vertebrate in which the notochord (a flexible rod of uniform composition) found in all chordates ...

when he was a teenager. Ponta was a member of Australia's first national wheelchair basketball team, and is credited with expanding the sport of wheelchair basketball in Western Australia. At the end of his competitive career, he became a coach, working with athletes such as

Louise Sauvage Alix Louise Sauvage, OAM (born 18 September 1973) is an Australian paralympic wheelchair racer and leading coach. Sauvage is often regarded as the most renowned disabled sportswoman in Australia. She won nine gold and four silver medals at fo ...

Priya Cooper Priya Naree Cooper, (born 2 October 1974) is an Australian world champion disabled swimmer, winning nine Paralympic gold medals as well as world records and world championships. She competed in the Australian swimming team at the 1992, 1996 an ...

, Madison de Rozario,

Bruce Wallrodt Bruce Wallrodt, (26 September 1951 – 2 July 2019) was an Australian Paralympic athlete. He competed at five Paralympic Games and won nine medals, four of them gold. Personal Wallrodt was born on 26 September 1951 in the Western Australian c ...

and Bryan Stitfall. He died on 1 June 2011 at the age of 75 after a long illness.

Early life and athletic career

Ponta was born in the Perth suburb of Subiaco on 8 November 1935, as the eldest of nine children. In 1947 he moved to

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

because his father had a job there in the building trade. He attended Christian Brothers schools in Leederville and Geraldton. At the age of fourteen or fifteen, he injured his back while diving off a wharf in Geraldton, which aggravated a tumour in his

. The tumour was diagnosed when he was 17 and after it was removed, he lost the use of both his legs. He entered the spinal injury ward at

Royal Perth Hospital Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) is a 450-bed adult and teaching hospital located on the northeastern edge of the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. History The hospital traces its history back to the first colonial hospital, whi ...

in 1954 for rehabilitation, where he was trained in sports by John "Johno" Johnston. When Ponta began his competitive career, he played several sports, in common with most paraplegic athletes at the time. He competed in basketball, pentathlon, swimming and fencing. Ponta was a member of the first national wheelchair basketball team for Australia, formed in 1956, mostly composed of players from the spinal injury ward of Royal Perth Hospital.

Competitive athletic career

Xx1164 - Australian athletes at athletics Tokyo Games - 3a - Scan

In 1957, Ponta competed at the

Stoke Mandeville Games Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

, the precursor to the

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 ...

. He and teammate

Bill Mather-Brown William "Bill" Edgar Mather-Brown (born 14 April 1936) is an Australian Paralympian. Personal He was born in the Western Australian city of Fremantle in 1936. He contracted polio in 1938 aged 2 in the town of Agnew in the Goldfields, Northeas ...

won a gold medal in Foil Novice team at the wheelchair fencing event. In the same year, Ponta and Mather-Brown also competed at the Welsh Challenge Cup, where the pair also won gold. Ponta competed in five Paralympic Games, including the first one held in Rome in 1960. As a Paralympic competitor, he won a gold medal, two silver medals and a bronze medal. He competed in several sports including wheelchair racing, wheelchair fencing, swimming and wheelchair basketball. At the

1960 Summer Paralympics The 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games, retroactively designated as the 1960 Summer Paralympics ( it, Giochi paralimpici estivi del 1960),

, he competed in the Men's Precision Javelin, where he won a silver medal. He was a member of the Australian wheelchair basketball team at the

1962 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games The First Commonwealth Paraplegic Games were held in Perth, Western Australia from 10 to 17 November 1962. These Games preceded the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games which were held in Perth from 22 November to 1 December of that year. ...

in Perth. At the

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

in Tokyo, Ponta competed in Class 2 Men's swimming in the 25 m breaststroke event, where he failed to medal. At those same games, he also competed in the class 2 Men's 25 m Freestyle Supine event, where he won a gold medal. He also competed in wheelchair fencing at the 1964 Games in the Eppee Team event, where he did not medal, and the Men's Foil Novice Individual, where he won a silver medal. At the 1968 Tel Aviv Games, he competed in the Class 2 Men's 25 m Breaststroke event, where he failed to medal. He also competed in the Men's 25 m Backstroke, where he won a bronze medal. He also competed in the 100 m Wheelchair race, the pentathlon complete, precision javelin open, slalom a, and in the wheelchair basketball team. He did not medal in any of these events. He competed without winning a medal at the 1972 Heidelberg Games in the discus, javelin, precision javelin, and the wheelchair basketball team. At the 1976 Toronto Games, he competed in the discus, javelin, pentathlon, precision javelin, and shot put events, and was also part of the wheelchair basketball team. He did not medal in any of these events.

Coaching career

Ponta coached several medal winning Paralympic athletes including

and

. He was Sauvage's first coach, starting when Sauvage was a junior competitor. Sauvage described Ponta's coaching style as patient. Ponta was influential in developing junior wheelchair sports in Western Australia and the rest of the country. Ponta pushed junior athletes to make something of themselves and put an emphasis on sportsmanship. He is described by the Western Australian government as having devoted his life to the Wheelchair Sport Association as a coach and role model. One of Ponta's coaching skills was identifying which events that junior athletes would excel at. He did this with several athletes, including Sauvage. He transformed her from a sprinter to a middle and long distance competitor. Ponta coached Madison de Rozario, who won a medal at the

2008 Paralympic Games The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It wa ...

. de Rozario considers Frank Ponta one of her heroes. In 2003 and 2004, he coached athletics competitors

and Bryan Stitfall, who had won a

Western Australian Institute of Sport The Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1983 by the Government of Western Australia to support athletes in Western Australia. Previously, if elite athletes from Western Australian needed to train or ...

scholarship.

Wheelchair basketball

Ponta is credited with developing wheelchair basketball in Western Australia. He is described as a pioneer of the sport. Organisations such as Australian Athletes With A Disability credit Ponta with being a driving force for the development of the sport in Western Australia. He is considered by organisations such as Disability Services Australia as one of the greatest wheelchair basketball players ever. The Frank Ponta Trophy tournament was introduced by

Basketball Australia Basketball Australia is the governing and controlling body of basketball in Australia, responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. Basketball Australia sanctions Australia's two professional leagues, the Nation ...

in 2010. Ponta coached the Western Australian youth team. He would remove any players who did not show good sportsmanship.

Personal life

Ponta married Margaret, a nurse, in 1962. They had four children: Mark, Andrew, Tanya, and Jamie. In July 2008, he had a stroke, which restricted his movement to his right arm and left him "virtually bedridden". Shortly after his stroke, he tried to get admitted to the

quadriplegic 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 ...

centre in the Royal Perth Hospital Shenton Park Campus. His request was denied, despite having been one of the first patients at the campus. Several high-profile individuals tried to intercede on his behalf including

Sue Ellery Suzanne Mary Ellery (born 12 May 1962) is an Australian politician who has been a Labor Party member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia since 2001, representing South Metropolitan Region. She is the current Minister for Finance, ...

, Louise Sauvage and Bill Mather-Brown. The hospital argued against admission on the grounds that Ponta was not a quadriplegic and should have been admitted to an aged care centre instead. He died on 1 June 2011 in Perth after a long illness, at the age of 75.

Recognition

Ponta received the Sir Ludwig Guttman Award in 1984, and the Lord's Taverners Award in 1989, from Wheelchair Sports Australia. He received the

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 ...

in 2000; his citation said: "Basketball Paralympian - huge contribution to Junior w/c sports - team selector, team mgr coach". In 2003, at the Wheelchair Sports WA Annual Awards, Ponta was named the Coach of the Year. He received the Western Australian Citizen of the Year Award in 2007. In 2011, he was one of the first people to be inducted into the Australian Paralympian Hall of Fame, along with

and

George Bedbrook Sir George Montario Bedbrook, OBE (8 October 1921 – 6 October 1991) was an Australian medical doctor and surgeon, who was the driving force in creating the Australian Paralympic movement and the Commonwealth Paraplegic Games, and helped to f ...

. In 2012, he was inducted into the International Paralympian Hall of Fame at a ceremony in London. In 2017, he was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

as an Athlete and General Member.

References

External links