Darren Brian Thrupp, OAM (born 6 December 1966) is an Australian Paralympic athlete competing mainly in category T37 sprint events. He has won nine medals at six Paralympics.

Biography

Thrupp was born in the Queensland town of Kilcoy. He acquired a brain injury in a car accident on a dusty Queensland road in February 1985 on the way home from a cricket match against

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. The accident affected the right side of his body, in a way similar to hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Before the accident, like many young men from country Queensland, he was involved in running, cricket and playing A-grade rugby league for the Wallumbilla Herefords. He was looking forward to a rugby league career. The people of

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encouraged him to take up athletics. In 1987, he attended a Sporting Wheelies "come and try" day and his times qualified him for the 1988 Seoul Games. His confidence was also assisted by being offered at job at the Roma Railway Station freight shed. Thrupp has highlighted the tremendous support of the country people of Wallumbilla and Roma in his rehabilitation and their financial support to allow him to attend many international competitions. In 1989, the community raised $6,000 to allow him to compete in a major competition Japan. He credits this support for assisting him to win a gold medal at 1992 Barcelona Games During his career, Thrupp has trained on his own in the bush around Wallumbilla. His coaches have been in

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. These have included Jo Hogan and since 2001 Gary Bourne. From 1994 to 1995, he had both an

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Athletics with a Disability non-residential scholarship and a

Queensland Academy of Sport The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1991 by the Queensland Government to support athletes in the state of Queensland. Its headquarters are currently located at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in ...

scholarship. He works as a

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Competitive career

Paralympic Games

Thrupp has competed at six Paralympics. His first Games were the 1988 Seoul Paralympics, where he competed in three events – 100 m, 200 m and 400 m C8 events. Thrupp stated "I have to admit that I was completely overawed by the Paralympics in Seoul. There I was a bloke from outback Queensland, running in front of 100,000 people, so in my event I ran too hard early on and missed out". In the 1992 Barcelona Games, he won a gold medal in the men's long jump C7–8, for which he 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 ...

. He also competed in the men's 100 m, 200 m and 400 m C8 events. Thrupp followed this up in the 1996 Atlanta Games with a men's long jump F34–37 gold and a bronze in the 200 m T37. In 2000, he 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 ...

. That year, in the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, he was a part of the winning men's 4x100 m and 4x400 m T35–38 relay teams. At these Games, he also competed in the men's 100 m, 200 m and 400 m T38 events. At the 2004 Athens Games, he won gold in the men's 4x100 m T35–38 and bronze medals in the men's 100 m T37 and long jump T36–38. His sixth appearance in the 2008 Beijing Games led to a third successive men's 4x100 m relay gold medal. He also competed in the men's 100 m T37 and men's long jump F37/38.

International competitions

At the World Championships and Games for the Disabled in

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, he won a gold medal in the men's long jump C8 event and a silver medal in the men's 100 m C8 event. He has competed at the 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006

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 2002, he won gold medals in the men's 4x100 m T35–38 and men's 4x400 m T35–38 events. In 2006, he won gold medals in the men's long jump F37 and men's 4x100 mT35–38 events and bronze in the men's 100 m T37 event. At the CPISRA World Championships in 2001, he won the men's long jump event and received a bronze medal in the 100 m event.

Recognition

Besides the Medal of the Order of Australia and Australian Sports Medal, Thrupp has been awarded the Maranoa District Sportsman of the Century as well as the Darling Downs Sportsman of the Year. Thrupp's advice is "If I was to say anything to people with a disability it would be just to get up and have a go, to keep fighting and have plenty of strength". In 2024, Thrupp was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Darren Thrupp
at Australian Athletics Historical Results * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thrupp, Darren 1966 births Living people Paralympic athletes for Australia Australian male sprinters Australian male long jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Paralympics 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 Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Cerebral palsy-category Paralympic competitors Sportsmen from Queensland Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal 20th-century Australian sportsmen