Cindy-Lu Bailey , also known as Cindy-Lu Fitzpatrick, (born 8 March 1965) is a former Australian deaf swimmer who has represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in both

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 ...

and in

Deaflympics The Deaflympics also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) are a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at which Deaf athlet ...

. She is considered to be the most decorated woman in Deaflympics history with a record haul of 29 medals, which is the highest among women in Deaflympics. Bailey is also one of the greatest swimmers of Australia in history. Her record haul of 29 medals is also the third most by a Deaflympic athlete (among men and women) just behind

Terence Parkin Terence Mike Parkin (born 12 April 1980 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) is a swimmer from South Africa, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the 200m Breaststroke. Parkin, who is deaf, also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics, as wel ...

's haul of 33 medals and Reed Gershwind's haul of 30 medals. Her medal tally of 29, is also the highest medal count for Australia in Deaflympics history.

Career

As a deaf swimmer, Bailey wasn't able to hear the starter gun despite her success at the Deaflympics. She made her

debut at the age of just 12 during the

1977 Summer Deaflympics Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (n ...

where she also managed to win a bronze medal. Bailey has also claimed national titles for Australia in the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke in 1980s, when she was just 16 years old. She then represented the national team in the Commonwealth Games in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. She has also participated at the Pan Pacific Games. In 1982, she was ranked within the top 16 on the Speedo World Rankings list. Bailey was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1985 for her services towards the sport and for her dedication despite having deafness. Bailey has competed at the Deaflympics on 6 occasions (1977, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993 and 1997) and finished her medal hunt with 19 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze medals. In 2002, she became the only woman to be inducted into the New South Wales (NSW) Hall of Champions. At the

2005 Summer Deaflympics The 2005 Summer Deaflympics, officially known as the 20th Summer Deaflympics, is an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 5 January to 16 January 2005 in Melbourne, Australia. Bidding process A bid for the games was held on 9 ...

held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, she was given the honour of lighting cauldron (flame bearer). In fact became the only woman to be given such an opportunity in Deaflympic history. Baliley was also a torchbearer during the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. In 2013, she voted as one of Australia's Top 100 sportswomen of all time.

Post swimming career

Cindy-Lu Bailey married Rodney, an Australian surfer. They have two children, Tara and Lily. At present, she works at the University of Newcastle as Auslan Professor as well as she serves as the Technical Director of swimming for the

International Committee of Sports for the Deaf International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

Awards

* 1985: 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 ...

(OAM) * 1999: Sports deaf sports woman of the Year Finalist * 2001: Medal of honour winner

References

External links

Cindy-Lu Bailey
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Cindy-Lou Deaf swimmers Living people 1965 births Australian female breaststroke swimmers Australian female freestyle swimmers Australian female medley swimmers Australian deaf people Deaflympic gold medalists for Australia Deaflympic silver medalists for Australia Deaflympic bronze medalists for Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Swimmers from Sydney Sportswomen from New South Wales