Paul Bird, OAM is an Australian athlete, swimmer,

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

gold and silver medalist, and sports administrator.

Personal

Paul Bird was born in

Murwillumbah, New South Wales Murwillumbah ( ) is a town in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in the Tweed Shire, on the Tweed River (New South Wales), Tweed River. Sitting on the south eastern foothills of the McPherson Range in the Tweed Volcano valley, Murwill ...

on 18 July 1954, one of five sons of Ken and Thelma Bird. He was educated at St John Fishers,

Ignatius Park College Ignatius Park College is an Independent school, independent Catholic school, Catholic secondary school for boys, located in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The school is affiliated with Edmund Rice Education Australia network that operates un ...

and Home Hill State High School. He participated in a number of sports, playing

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

for North Queensland Schoolboys, and was a state medalist in backstroke relay as a 17-year-old. His leg was amputated as a result of a motor cycle accident when he was 18, but he continued sporting activities, including swimming. He was also an assistant scuba diving instructor for a

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

club.

201000 - Opening Ceremony swimmer Paul Bird parades - 3b - 2000 Sydney opening ceremony photo

Career

He won a number of events in the pool and on the field as well, earning him a place in the Queensland state squad. In Sydney he won the Australian

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

events, and was runner up in discus,

shot-put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

and

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

championships. He was a member of the team for the

1980 Summer Paralympics The 1980 Summer Paralympics ( nl, Paralympische Zomerspelen 1980), branded as the Olympics for the Disabled, were the sixth Summer Paralympic Games. They were held in Arnhem, Netherlands, from 21 to 30 June 1980. Background The Soviet Union, h ...

Arnhem, Netherlands Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

, winning a gold medal in the pool in the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay. He was the Australian Team Captain at the

1984 Summer Paralympics The 1984 International Games for the Disabled, canonically the 1984 Summer Paralympics were the seventh Paralympic Games to be held. There were two separate competitions: one in Stoke Mandeville, England, United Kingdom for wheelchair athletes ...

, at which he won a second gold medal in the 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, and a silver medal in the 100m backstroke. He was appointed to the Australian Paralympic Team staff as a Section Manager for the

1988 Summer Paralympics The 1988 Summer Paralympics () were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used officially. Bidding proc ...

in Seoul in 1988. He was Assistant Chef de Mission for Australian Paralympic team at the

1992 Summer Paralympics )( es, Deporte Sin Límites) , nations = 82 (BCN)75 (MAD) , athletes = 3,020 (BCN)1,600 (MAD) , opened_by = Queen Sofía , opening = 3 September (BCN)15 September (MAD) , closing = 14 September (BCN)22 September (MAD) , even ...

in Barcelona, the

1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympic Games, Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games ...

in Atlanta and the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

in Beijing, and was Chef de Mission for 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 ...

in Sydney and the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

in Athens. He was also the Chef de Mission for the Australian team at the 1999 FESPIC Games in Bangkok and the 2002 FESPIC Games in Pusan, and was Assistant Chef de Mission for the 2006 FESPIC Games in Kuala Lumpur. He was one of the torchbearers at the

2000 Summer Olympics torch relay The 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay was the transferral of the Olympic Flame to Sydney, Australia, that built up to the 2000 Summer Olympics. The torch travelled to various island nations as part of a tour of Oceania before beginning an exten ...

. He was elected President of the Oceania Paralympic Committee in December 2005. In November 2000 he was awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

for "over 20 years outstanding service to the Paralympic movement and as Chef de Mission". He was awarded the

Order of Australia Medal 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 ...

in 2002 "For service to sports administration, particularly through the Australian Paralympic Committee." In 2010, he was awarded the Paralympic Medal, the APC's highest award, for his leadership roles with Australian Teams and his contribution to the development of the Australian Paralympic Committee over a period of 30 years. In December 2021, he was awarded the International Paralympic Committee's

Paralympic Order The Paralympic symbols are the icons, flags, and symbols used by the International Paralympic Committee to promote the Paralympic Games. Motto The Paralympic motto is "Spirit in Motion". The motto was introduced in 2004 at the Paralympic Games in ...

References

External links

NQ Sports FoundationAPC Board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Paul Male Paralympic swimmers for Australia Swimmers at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Australian amputees Sportsmen from New South Wales Living people Australian male backstroke swimmers 1954 births Paralympic athletes for Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in swimming Australian male freestyle swimmers