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Gregory Stephen Smith, OAM (born 19 August 1967) is an Australian Paralympic athlete and
Smith won a gold medal in the men's 4x100 m T1 at the World Championships and Games for the Disabled in
Smith retired from wheelchair athletics in 2002. After a two-year break, he took up wheelchair rugby socially and at the end of his first season he won the New South Wales State League Most Valuable Player Award and the National League Best New Talent. In 2006, he represented Australia for the first time in wheelchair rugby at the Canada Cup International Tournament. He was a member of the Australian mixed team that won the silver medal in wheelchair rugby at the 2008 Beijing Games . After Beijing, he retired as a player but continued as an assistant coach. He came out of retirement in 2010 and was re-selected to the Australian squad in 2011. He was the Australian flag bearer at the 2012 London Games, and was part of the team that won the gold medal. He retired after the Games but still has an active interest in the sport.
At the 2018 World Championships in Sydney, he was the Assistant Coach of the Australian team that won the silver medal after being defeated by Japan 61–62 in the gold medal game.
Greg Smith
at Australian Athletics Historical Results {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Greg Paralympic athletes of Australia Paralympic wheelchair rugby players of Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair rugby players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair rugby players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian Institute of Sport Paralympic track and field athletes Victorian Institute of Sport alumni Sportspeople from Ballarat 1967 births Living people Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic medalists in wheelchair rugby Australian male wheelchair racers
wheelchair rugby
Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport.
The US name ...
player who won three gold medals in athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...
, and a gold medal in wheelchair rugby at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...
, where he was the flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
Personal
Smith was born on 19 August 1967 in the Victorian city ofBallarat
Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...
. He broke his neck in a car accident in 1987 while he was a physical training instructor with the Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
. The accident left him with little movement from the chest down. He went through one and a half years of gruelling rehabilitation but his life became active again in 1988 after another patient lent him a racing wheelchair.
Athletics career
Smith won a gold medal in the men's 4x100 m T1 at the World Championships and Games for the Disabled in Assen
Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...
, Netherlands. He then began his long Paralympic career with a silver medal in the men's 4x100 m relay TW1–2, and bronze medals in the men's marathon TW2 and the men's 4x400 m relay TW1–2 at the 1992 Barcelona Games. He also competed in the men's 800 m, 1500 m and 5000 m TW2 events. In 1992, he held a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport
The Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) is the government-funded sporting institute of the Australian state of Victoria. It provides high performance sports programs for talented athletes, enabling them to achieve national and international succe ...
in athletics. That year, he finished fourth in the 10 km road race at the 1992 Oz Day race. In 1995, he was awarded an Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...
Athletes with a Disability non-residential scholarship which he held until 2000.
At the 1996 Atlanta Games, Smith won a silver medal in the men's 5000 m T51. He also competed in the men's 400 m, 1500 m and marathon in T51 events. Smith won three gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Games in the men's 800 m T52, men's 1500 m T52 and men's 5000 m T52 events, for 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 ...
. He also competed in the men's marathon T52. At the 1998 IPC Athletics World Championships
The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...
in Berlin, he won four gold medals in the men's 800 m, men's 1500 m, men's 5000 m and the men's marathon.
Wheelchair Rugby career
Smith retired from wheelchair athletics in 2002. After a two-year break, he took up wheelchair rugby socially and at the end of his first season he won the New South Wales State League Most Valuable Player Award and the National League Best New Talent. In 2006, he represented Australia for the first time in wheelchair rugby at the Canada Cup International Tournament. He was a member of the Australian mixed team that won the silver medal in wheelchair rugby at the 2008 Beijing Games . After Beijing, he retired as a player but continued as an assistant coach. He came out of retirement in 2010 and was re-selected to the Australian squad in 2011. He was the Australian flag bearer at the 2012 London Games, and was part of the team that won the gold medal. He retired after the Games but still has an active interest in the sport.
At the 2018 World Championships in Sydney, he was the Assistant Coach of the Australian team that won the silver medal after being defeated by Japan 61–62 in the gold medal game.
Recognition
* OAM, 2001 *Australian Team Flag Bearer at2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...
*Honorary Doctorate, University of Ballarat
The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main Ballarat campus, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, unde ...
, 2013
References
External links
Greg Smith
at Australian Athletics Historical Results {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Greg Paralympic athletes of Australia Paralympic wheelchair rugby players of Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair rugby players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair rugby players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian Institute of Sport Paralympic track and field athletes Victorian Institute of Sport alumni Sportspeople from Ballarat 1967 births Living people Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic medalists in wheelchair rugby Australian male wheelchair racers