Lauren Parker (born 15 December 1988) is an Australian para-triathlete and para-cyclist. She won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. She has won multiple World Triathlon Championships in Women's PTWC.

Personal life

Parker was born on 15 December 1988 in

Belmont, New South Wales Belmont is a suburb in Greater Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district on the eastern side of Lake Macquarie and is part of the City of Lake Macquarie council. Belmont is situated on a sandy pe ...

. She lives in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

Paratriathlon

Before having to transition to paratriathlon as a result of a serious training accident in April 2017, Parker was a successful triathlete. She took up triathlon at the age of 18 after being a successful junior swimmer. At the 2015 Ironman World Championship in Kona she finished second in the Women's 25–29 Age Group. The training accident left Parker with a punctured lung, broken ribs, shoulder blade and pelvis, and damaged spinal cord. She spent six months in hospital and spinal rehabilitation unit. She turned to paratriathlon and competes in the PTWC-class for wheelchair athletes. After three months training, she won the bronze medal at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nati ...

. At the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

Parker fished second and won the silver medal with a time of 1:06.26. She was just 0.01 of a second behind the Gold medal winner

Kendall Gretsch Kendall Gretsch (born April 2, 1992) is an American triathlete, biathlete and cross-country skier. She was born with spina bifida. She has competed in both Summer Paralympics and Winter Paralympics and has a unique distinction of winning gold m ...

of the United States. Major PTWC-class international paratriathlon results: *2018 – OTU Paratriathlon Oceania Championship, St Kilda Melbourne – 2nd place *2018 – ITU Paratriathlon World Cup, Devonport – 2nd place *2018 – Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast – Bronze medal *2018 – ITU World Paratriathlon Series Yokohama – 2nd place *2018 – ITU Paratriathlon World Cup, Besançon – 1st place *2018 – ITU World Paratriathlon Series, Iseo Franciacorta – 1st place *2018 – ITU World Triathlon Grand Final, Gold Coast – Bronze medal *2019 – ITU World Triathlon Grand Final, Lausanne – Gold medal *2020 – Summer Paralympic Games, Tokyo – Silver medal - Women's PTWC *2021 – ITU World Triathlon Championship Series, Abu Dhabi – Gold medal – Women's PTWC *2022 – ITU World Triathlon Championship Series, Abu Dhabi – Gold medal – Women's PTWC Parker is coached by Dan Atkins.

Para cycling

In her first major international para cycling event, Parker won the gold medal in the Women's Time Trial H3 and the silver medal in the Women's Road Race H3 at the 2023 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Recognition

*2018 –

New South Wales Institute of Sport The New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) is a high performance sports training institute located in New South Wales, Australia. The New South Wales government agency provides world leading coaching, performance support and daily training ...

Ian Thorpe OAM Outstanding Achievement Award for having come back from a horrific training accident the previous year to qualify, compete and win bronze at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games; Sport NSW Athlete of the Year with a Disability ; Triathlon Australia Chris Hewitt Emerging Athlete Award; *2019 –

Australian Women's Health Sport Awards Australian Women's Health Women in Sport Awards were first awarded in 2011. The awards were established by the Australian Women's Health Magazine to recognise the achievements of Australian women in sport. The awards are the main awards for Australi ...

Comeback of the Year;

Ian Thorpe OAM Outstanding Achievement Award recognised Parker's ongoing battle to overcome her tragic training accident in 2017, with the paratriathlete ending the 2019 season as a world champion; Sport NSW Athlete of the Year with a Disability. *2021 - Triathlon Australia Performance of the Year; Triathlon Australia Para-triathlon Female Performance of the Year; Triathlon Australia Athlete's Athlete of the Year *2022 - Sport NSW Athlete of the Year with a Disability; Triathlon Australia Performance of the Year; Triathlon Australia Para-triathlon Female Performance of the Year *2023 - Triathlon Australia Para-triathlon Female Performance of the Year; Sport NSW Athlete of the Year with a Disability, AIS Sport Performance Awards - Female Para-Athlete of the Year; AusCycling Women's Road Para-cyclist of the Year

References

External links

* * *
Lauren Parker Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Lauren 1988 births Commonwealth Games medallists in triathlon Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Living people Paralympic athletes for Australia Triathletes at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic triathletes for Australia Triathletes at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Paralympic cyclists for Australia Australian female cyclists