Alison Quinn

Alison Quinn

Australian track and field athlete Alison Quinn holding the boxing kangaroo flag at the Barcelona 1992 Paralympic Games.
Personal information
Full name	Alison Clare Quinn
Nationality	Australia
Born	21 April 1977 Manly, New South Wales
Medal record Athletics Paralympic Games 1992 Barcelona Women's 100 m C7–8 1992 Barcelona Women's 200 m C7–8 2000 Sydney women's 100 m T38 2000 Sydney women's 200 m T38 1996 Atlanta Women's 100 m T36–37

Alison Clare Quinn, OAM^[1] (born 21 April 1977)^[2] is an Australian Paralympic athlete who won five medals at three Paralympics from 1992 to 2000.

Personal

Quinn was born in the Sydney suburb of Manly^[2] with cerebral palsy; she has hemiplegia on the left side of her body.^[3] She became involved in gymnastics to increase coordination and symmetry when she was two years old.^[3] She now trains in various sports including swimming, weights, and track work at the Sydney Academy of Sport.^[3] Quinn is employed as a part-time gymnastic coach and a motivational speaker, who is committed to increasing awareness of disabled sport in the community.^[3]

Competitive career

Quinn during her gold medal winning run in the 100 m T38 race at the 2000 Summer Paralympics

Quinn won two gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona Games in the Women's 100 m C7–8 and Women's 200 m C7–8 events, for which she received a Medal of the Order of Australia.^[1][4] At the 1996 Atlanta Games, she won a bronze medal in the Women's 100 m T36–37 event.^[4] She won a gold medal with a world record time at the 2000 Sydney Games in the women's 100 m T38 event and a silver medal in the women's 200 m T38 event.^[5] In 2000 Quinn received an Australian Sports Medal in recognition of her performance at the Paralympics and her two world records.^[6] Quinn was trained by Jackie Byrnes who was a national level athlete in the 1960s.^[7]

References

1. "Quinn, Alison Clare, OAM". It's an Honour. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
2. "Australians at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics: Athletes". Australian Sports Commission. Archived from the original on 19 January 2000. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
3. "Paralympian to visit Tamworth". Northern Daily Leader. 7 December 2000. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
4. "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
5. "Australian Honour Roll". Australian Paralympic Committee Annual Report 2010. Australian Paralympic Committee: 10. 2010.
6. "Quinn, Alison Clare, Australian Sports Medal". It's an Honour. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
7. "Jackie Byrnes Announced as National Youth Event Coach". Athletics Australia. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2012.