Alison Clare Quinn, OAM (born 21 April 1977) 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 with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

; she has

hemiplegia Hemiparesis, also called unilateral paresis, is the weakness of one entire side of the body ('' hemi-'' means "half"). Hemiplegia, in its most severe form, is the complete paralysis of one entire side of the body. Either hemiparesis or hemiplegia ...

on the left side of her body. She became involved in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

to increase coordination and symmetry when she was two years old. She now trains in various sports including

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

, weights, and track work at the

Sydney Academy of Sport Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean in ...

. 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.

Competitive career

261000 - Athletics track 100m T38 Alison Quinn gold action - 3b - 2000 Sydney race photo

Paralympic Games

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 The Order of Australia is an Australian 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 then ...

. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, she won a bronze medal in the Women's 100 m T36–37 event. She won a gold medal with a world record time at the

2000 Sydney Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in the women's 100 m T38 event and a silver medal in the women's 200 m T38 event.

IPC World Championships

At the 1994

IPC Athletics World Championships The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...

in Berlin, Quinn won gold medals in the Women's 100 m T37 and 200 m T37 and Long Jump F37. She also came fourth in the Women's Javelin F37. At the 1998

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, she won gold medal in the Women's 100 m T38 and silver medal in the 200 m T38. In 2000 Quinn received an

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, off ...

in recognition of her performance at the Paralympics and her two world records. Quinn was trained by Jackie Byrnes who was a national level athlete in the 1960s.

References

External links

Alison Quinn
at Australian Athletics Historical Results * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Alison Paralympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Cerebral palsy-category Paralympic competitors Track and field athletes with cerebral palsy Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Australian female sprinters Sportswomen from New South Wales Athletes from Sydney 1977 births Living people Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships