Rodney Nugent on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Rodney Francis Nugent, OAM (born 26 November 1967) is an Australian Paralympic athlete.
At the World Championships and Games for the Disabled in
Personal
Nugent was born on 26 November 1967 in the northern New South Wales city of Lismore. At the age of 15, he lost the lower portion of his right arm in an industrial accident with a mincing machine . Before the accident, Nugent enjoyed sport and played soccer and cricket. The accident did not stop his love of sport and he turned his focus to athletics and coaching. He is married and has three sons.Career
At the 1988 Seoul Paralympics, Nugent entered seven events and won four gold (long jump, triple jump, 4x 100 m Relay, and 4 x 400 m Relay) and three bronze medals (100 m, 200 m and high jump). He broke three world records.
At the World Championships and Games for the Disabled in Assen
Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...
, Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
he won gold medals in the men's triple jump 9F and men's 4x100 m relay 3T, silver medals in the men's 100 m 6T and men's high jump 9F and bronze medal in men's long jump 9F.
In 1992, he accepted a scholarship in the newly established Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...
(AIS) Athletes with a Disabilities program and was coached by Chris Nunn. In joining the AIS program, Nugent commented "It’s very hard for athletes to finance their own training – I did it for years and it was tough. Getting this scholarship with the AIS has made all the difference. The facilities are good and the training program is excellent".
Nugent won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games in the Men's 4x100 m Relay TS2,4 event, a world record. He also competed in the 100 m, 200 m, long jump and triple jump. He left the AIS program after the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics.
In two Paralympics, Nugent won five gold and three bronze medals.
In an interview in 2011, Nugent commented that sport allowed him to achieve the goals he had as an able bodied athlete and played a significant role in his rehabilitation.
Nugent is currently with Mid North Coast Special Olympics as public relations officer and coaching Special Olympic athletes Bennett Powell and Josh Southgate in Port Macquarie. He is the Australian special olympics head athletics coach and has also filled this role at the state level for New South Wales.
Awards
*Daily Examiner Sports Star of the Year Award - 1986, 1987 & 1988 *Medal of the Order of Australia
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 ...
(1993) for his 1992 gold medal
*Clarence Valley Council Sporting Wall of Fame induction in 2002.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent, Rodney 1967 births Living people People from the Mid North Coast Paralympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Australian amputees Sprinters with limb difference High jumpers with limb difference Long jumpers with limb difference Triple jumpers with limb difference Paralympic sprinters Paralympic high jumpers Paralympic long jumpers Paralympic triple jumpers Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian Institute of Sport Paralympic track and field athletes Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Australian male sprinters Australian male high jumpers Australian male long jumpers Australian male triple jumpers Sportsmen from New South Wales