Michael "Mike" Alwyn Nugent (born 1945/1946) is an Australian Paralympic athlete and wheelchair manufacturer, who has won six medals at four Paralympics.

Personal

Nugent was paralysed in a motorbike accident and first became involved in wheelchair sport at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane in 1963 at the age of 17. He began in wheelchair basketball and field events at Kingshome Rehabilitation Centre and became interested in canoeing due to physiotherapist Vernon Hill. He has been married to Paralympic swimmer

Pam Foley Pam Nugent (née Foley) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She was studying to be a nurse at Mater Hospital in Townsville, when she became paralysed from the waist down at the age of 19 after her new motorbike crashed over Castle Hill. She ...

since 1975. In 1977 he started a Brisbane-based wheelchair-manufacturing business, Surgical Engineering.

Competitive career

Nugent competed at his first National Games in Perth in 1968, and was a regular part of the Queensland team for the games in the 1970s and 1980s. His first international competition was the

1977 FESPIC Games The 2nd FESPIC Games was a multi-sport event for Far East and South Pacific athletes with a disability held in Parramatta, Australia. The Games were opened on November 20, 1977, by Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser, Prime Minister of Australia and ...

in Sydney. Once his family and business life settled, he began training six days a week to pursue his interest in international competition. At his first Paralympics, the 1980 Arnhem Games, he won a gold medal in the Men's 200 m 3 event and a silver medal in the Men's 400 m 3 event. His world record-breaking 200 m performance at the 1980 games was recognised as the best international performance by an Australian wheelchair athlete in that year. At the 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville Games, he won a gold medal and broke a world record in the Men's 400 m 2 event and two bronze medals in the Men's 800 m 2 and Men's 1,500 m 2 events. At the

1988 Seoul Games The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, he won a bronze medal in the Men's 200 m 2 event; he had a flat tyre during the early stages of the marathon, but still finished the race to support his teammates. He also participated but did not win any medals in athletics events at the

1992 Barcelona Games The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. An avid wheelchair basketballer, he participated in the

Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team The Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team is the men's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Rollers. Australia took the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Paralymp ...

at the 1986 Gold Cup and was an integral member of the Queensland state wheelchair basketball team. After his retirement from Paralympic competition, he focused on road-racing events to both compete and promote his new wheelchair designs. He has participated in all major international wheelchair road-racing events, including the

Beppu-Ōita Marathon The is an annual men's marathon race that takes place every February between the cities of Beppu and Ōita on the island of Kyushu in Japan. The race has IAAF Silver Label Road Race status and is a listed course of AIMS (Association of Interna ...

, the Sempach Marathon, and the Peachtree Road Race.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent, Mike Paralympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) FESPIC Games competitors Australian male wheelchair racers Australian men's wheelchair basketball players People with paraplegia Athletes from Brisbane Sportsmen from Queensland 1940s births Living people