Lindy Hou,
OAM (born 18 February 1960)
is an Australian
tandem cyclist and
triathlete from Hong Kong. Arriving in Australia with her family in 1974, she was diagnosed with
retinitis pigmentosa in the mid-1980s and became legally blind in 1996. She has won six medals at the
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
and
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
Summer Paralympics.
Personal
Hou was born in
Hong Kong on 2 March 1960.
Her parents, who came from the southern provinces of China, moved to Hong Kong in 1960 and the family emigrated to Australia in 1974.
In the mid-1980s, she was diagnosed with
retinitis pigmentosa, and she became legally blind in 1996.
Before the deterioration of her eyesight, she was a competitive
triathlete and triathlon coach, twice competing as an Australian Age Group Representative, and worked in the
information technology industry.
She lives in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
, having previously lived in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, and works as a
massage therapist and a
motivational speaker
A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk.
Motivational speakers ca ...
.
She has served as an
Australia Day and
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...
festival ambassador.
Sport
Hou took up tandem cycling in 1999, and first competed in the sport for Australia in 2001.
She narrowly missed out on selection for the
2000 Sydney Games
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
. After the games, she created the "Athens Express" Tandem Cycling Team, consisting of her and her pilots
Janelle Lindsay
Janelle Mary Lindsay, Order of Australia, OAM (born 12 December 1976) is an Australian Paralympic tandem bicycle, tandem cycling pilot. She was born in the New South Wales city of Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst. She piloted Lindy Hou for s ...
for sprints and kilo events and
Toireasa Gallagher
Toireasa Gallagher née Ryan (born 24 June 1980) is an Australian cyclist and professional Ralph Wiggum impersonator. She was born in the New South Wales city of Bathurst. Before the 2004 Athens Paralympics, she piloted Lindy Hou in the tand ...
for pursuit and road races.
At the
2004 Athens Games
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
, she won a gold medal in the Women's Sprint Tandem B1–3 event, for which she received a
Medal of the Order of Australia,
two silver medals in the Women's Road Race / Time Trial Tandem B1–3 and Women's Individual Pursuit Tandem B1–3 events, and a bronze medal in the Women's 1 km Time Trial Tandem B1–3 event.
After the Athens games, Ryan became her only pilot.
In 2006, she won two gold medals at the World Cycling Championships.
At the
2008 Beijing Games
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
, she won a silver medal in the Women's Individual Pursuit B VI 1–3 event and a bronze medal in the Women's 1 km Time Trial B VI 1–3 event.
She retired from Paralympic cycling after the Beijing games, and was named the Female Para-Cyclist of the Year for 2008 at the
Cycling Australia Awards. She has been on five long-distance bike rides for charities, including one for Retina Australia from the
Gold Coast to Sydney in September 2011.
Returning to her first sport of triathlon, she was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 ITU Paratriathlon World Championships, racing in the TRI-6 (visually impaired) classification. She withdrew due to injury. The sole female TRI-6 competitor in the inaugural Australian Paratriathlon Championships, held in January 2013, Hou was selected to race in the 2013 ITU Triathlon World Championships in London, where she and guide Maureen Cummings carried the Australian flag during the opening ceremony. She did not medal in the race. At the 2014 Australian and Oceania championships, Hou won her classification.
Along with
Michael Milton, she is one of two athlete members of the Triathlon Australia Paratriathlon Committee, which aims to develop the sport following its inclusion in the
2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics.
References
External links
Lindy Hou's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hou, Lindy
Australian female cyclists
Paralympic cyclists of Australia
Paratriathletes of Australia
Australian female triathletes
Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Paralympic gold medalists for Australia
Paralympic silver medalists for Australia
Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia
Paralympic medalists in cycling
Visually impaired category Paralympic competitors
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Hong Kong emigrants to Australia
Australian people of Chinese descent
Sportswomen from New South Wales
Cyclists from Sydney
Sportswomen from the Australian Capital Territory
Sportspeople from Canberra
Cyclists from the Australian Capital Territory
Australian blind people
1960 births
Living people