Gael Patricia Mulhall-Martin (born 27 August 1956) is a former Australian athlete who competed in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

and in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

at the Olympic level and also had a career in powerlifting.

Athletics

Born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Mulhall-Martin is daughter of footballer Ken Mulhall, an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er with the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club ...

. She won the bronze medal in women's shot put at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

held in Los Angeles, United States, becoming the first Australian (male or female) to win an Olympic medal in a throwing event. Mulhall also competed in four successive

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

events from 1974, winning double gold in Shot Put and Discus at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

in Edinburgh. Coached by

Franz Stampfl Franz Ferdinand Leopold Stampfl MBE (born Vienna 18 November 1913 – died 19 March 1995 Melbourne) was one of the world's leading athletics coaches in the twentieth century. He pioneered a scientific system of Interval Training which became ver ...

, she won a total of 20 senior Australian national championships in her career.Athletics Australia Profile
/ref> At the 1981 Pan Pacific Conference Games she tested positive for the use of

anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...

s and received an 18-month ban for cheating.

Powerlifting

Gael Martin represented Australia in the Women's World Powerlifting Championships in 1981, 1983 and 1988. In 1987, Martin received a grant from the ACT Talented Athletes Development Awards program. The higher level grant, which Martin received, was awarded to applicants with international ranking and the support of their sporting organisation.

Footnotes

References

Farber, M., "Drugs hurt career of Aussie woman"
''The (Montreal) Gazette'', (Monday, 4 October 1982), p.F-5
Goodwin, D., "Gael's firm — 'I'm not a drug taker' "
''(Sydney) Sun Herald'', (Sunday, 16 August 1981), p. 17
Mitchell, N. and McMahon, P., "Mulhall may take life ban to court"
''The Age'', (Wednesday, 15 July 1981), p. 36
Nolan, D., "Gael is hoping to throw for gold"
The Australian Women's Weekly, (Wednesday, 21 March 1979), p. 29
Webster, J., "Mulhall to start her comeback on Saturday"
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', Wednesday, 28 July 1982, p. 40
1973 photograph of Mulhall with Ray Rigby at an athletic meeting.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Gael 1956 births Living people Athletes from Melbourne Sportswomen from Victoria (Australia) Australian female discus throwers Australian female shot putters Australian powerlifters Female powerlifters Olympic athletes of Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Australian Institute of Sport track and field athletes Doping cases in Australian track and field