Michael Dow is an Australian Paralympic swimmer and weightlifter who won two gold, two silver and a bronze medal at the

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

. He was one of only two Victorian athletes selected to compete at these games.

Biography

Dow contracted poliomyelitis at 4 years of age while living with his family in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

. The family moved to Venezuela in 1954 and returned to

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 ...

Victoria in 1959. His interest in sport developed through newspapers, that included articles about sporting opportunities for disabled people and achievements of people with spinal cord injuries. In addition, the Victorian Paraplegic Sports Club supported local, national and international competitions for people with a disability which included the Victorian Championships held annually at Albert Park, The Australian Championships held bi-annually, and the Inaugural

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 ...

held in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

Western Australia, in November 1962. This event is held every four years. Selection for the 1964 Summer Paralympics was based on Dow's outstanding results achieved at the National Championships. He competed in sprint, long-distance track, javelin, and weightlifting that was an Australian innovation, the program being developed in Perth. At the

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

, he won two gold medals in the Men's 50 m Breaststroke incomplete class 3 and Men's 50 m Freestyle Supine incomplete class 3 events, a silver medal in Men's Weightlifting Featherweight event, a bronze medal in the Men's 50 m Freestyle Prone incomplete class 3 event., and a silver medal in the 4 x 60 metre wheelchair relay. Following his outstanding results at the 1964 Paralympics, Dow then decided to retire and concentrate on his studies. In 1970, he completed his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

Degree at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

Melbourne. Dow dropped out of competition for ten years, returned in 1979 and again in 1981 to compete in the Australian Paraplegic Championships. He then retired from competitive sport.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dow, Michael Male Paralympic swimmers for Australia Paralympic weightlifters for Australia Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Weightlifters at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Wheelchair category Paralympic competitors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic medalists in weightlifting Paralympic medalists in swimming Australian male freestyle swimmers Sportspeople from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state)