Neroli Susan Fairhall (26 August 1944 – 11 June 2006) was a New Zealand athlete, who was the first paraplegic competitor in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

Biography

Born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

in 1944, Fairhall took up archery following a motorbike accident that paralysed her from the waist down, ending her previous athletic career. She was able to compete in the

1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, shooting for New Zealand and finishing in 35th place. Fairhall was the first paraplegic to compete in the Olympic Games. Fairhall won gold when archery was first introduced to the

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 ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

in 1982. A national champion for many years, Fairhall won medals and held titles at the Paralympics, IPC-Archery World Championships and many international tournaments. She participated in four Summer Paralympics, in 1972, 1980, 1988, and 2000. At her first Paralympic Games she competed in

track and field athletics Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. At the 1980 Games, she took part in both athletics and archery, winning a gold medal in the latter sport. At the

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

and 2000 Paralympics she competed in archery only. In the

1983 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1983 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, Fairhall was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to archery and the disabled. She continued to coach at her

archery club after retiring from shooting. She died on 11 June 2006, aged 61, due to illness arising from her disability.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairhall, Neroli 1944 births 2006 deaths New Zealand female archers Olympic archers of New Zealand Archers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Archers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Paralympic archers of New Zealand Archers at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Archers at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Archers at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for New Zealand Wheelchair category Paralympic competitors Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Commonwealth Games medallists in archery Paralympic medalists in archery People with paraplegia Wheelchair discus throwers Wheelchair shot putters New Zealand wheelchair racers Paralympic discus throwers Paralympic shot putters Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games

Biography

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