Tim Sullivan (athlete)

Tim Sullivan
2012 Australian Paralympic Team portrait of Sullivan
Personal information
Born 16 September 1975

Timothy ("Tim") Francis Sullivan, OAM[1] (born 16 September 1975)[2] is an Australian Paralympic athlete.

Action shot of Sullivan winning gold in the 200 m T38 at the 2000 Summer Paralympics

Personal

Sullivan shown on the gold medal podium at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. He won five gold medals at these games.

Sullivan was born in Melbourne, Australia. When Tim was eight years old, he rode his bike to the local wreckers. It was among rusty car shells and beaten-up vehicles that a terrible accident occurred: he fell onto an aerial which slotted up one of his nostrils and struck his brain. From this accident Sullivan suffered cerebral palsy. It limits his verbal communication: he speaks in tiny, fast sentences and sometimes gives one-word answers.[3] It has also limited his use of the right side of his body but he has defied this disability and found real speed.

Career

Sullivan at the 2012 London Paralympics

Tim Sullivan, is an Australian athlete who has won ten[4] gold medals at the Paralympic Games.[5] This includes five gold medals at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney (T38 200m; T38 100m; T38 400m; T38 4X400m relay; T38 4X100m relay),[6] in which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia for his 'service to sport'.[1] Tim also won four gold medals at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, in the T38 100m, 200m and 400m events, and as a member of the men’s 4 × 100 m Relay team.[7] In addition to the gold medals won, Sullivan also set world records in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay at the 2000 Athens Paralympic Games.[8] At the conclusion of the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Tim was ranked 1st overall among athletes in his competitions.[9]

Tim represented Australia again at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing,[5] where he won a gold medal in the men's 4 × 100 m T35-38 and also at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.[2]

He held the Australian record for the highest gold medal count until being surpassed by Matthew Cowdrey in 2012.[10]

Tim did not medal at the 2012 Games.[11]

Recognition

In 2000, Sullivan was named Male Athlete of the Year by the Australian Paralympic Committee. In the same year, Sullivan also received the Victorian Institute of Sport's Award of Excellence.[9]

In October 2004, he was named “Paralympian of the Year” by the Australian Paralympic Committee.[7] In 2004, Sullivan was also awarded the Victorian Institute of Sport's Athlete With a Disability award.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Sullivan, Timothy Francis, OAM". It's an Honour. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Tim Sullivan". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  3. Halloran, Jessica (25 September 2004). "Sullivan's fateful ride leads to track of gold". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2017-08-11. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  4. Results for Timothy Sullivan from the International Paralympic Committee
  5. 1 2 "Aussie Paralympic athletics squad named" Archived 17 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine., The Age, 1 July 2008
  6. "A look back at the Sydney Olympics and Paralympics" Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine., Australian Bureau of Statistics
  7. 1 2 "Sullivan Wins Prestigious Award Down Under", International Paralympic Committee, 1 November 2004
  8. "Victorian Institute of Sport Annual Review" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sport. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-01. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 "Athlete Bio". www.paralympic.org. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
  10. Foreman, Glenn (6 September 2012). "Matt Cowdrey becomes Australia's greatest Paralympian with 11th gold medal". News Limited Network. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  11. "Tim Sullivan - Events and results". london2012.com. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
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