Emily Tapp (born 10 June 1991) is an Australian wheelchair Paralympic athlete and triathlete. She was selected to represent Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in athletics but was forced to withdraw before the Games due to a burns injury. She represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in paratriathlon.

Personal

On 8 January 2011 Tapp had a

campdrafting Campdrafting is a unique Australian sport involving a horse and equestrianism, rider working cattle. The riding style is Australian stock saddle, Australian stock, somewhat akin to American Western riding and the event is similar to the Americ ...

fall that left her a paraplegic. The accident resulted in her spending eight months in hospital and three years of rehabilitation. Tapp grew up on a remote cattle property in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. She was a boarder at Fairholme College in

Toowoomba, Queensland Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

and graduated at the end of 2010. In 2020, the NSW Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal from Tapp, who had sustained catastrophic injuries while competing in a campdraft competition organised by a not-for-profit community sports association, the Australian Bushmen's Campdraft & Rodeo Association. But in 2021, the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

ordered the Australian Bushmen's Campdraft & Rodeo Association to pay Tapp $6.75m in damages. In 2015, she was undertaking a Bachelor of International Business and Finance at

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland is a public research university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, the sixth largest city in the Australian state of Queensland Founded in 1967 after a successful campaign by the local Darling Down ...

Paratriathlon

In 2015, she won her first

paratriathlon Para triathlon is a variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability. The sport is governed by World Triathlon (TRI; formerly known as the International Triathlon Union or ITU), and was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 S ...

by winning the PT1 class at the OTU Oceania Paratriathlon Championships at

Penrith, New South Wales Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevati ...

. Tapp was disappointed that the Women's PT1 event was not on the 2016 Rio Paralympics paratriathlon program. At the

2020 Tokyo Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

, Tapp crashed into a barrier during the opening stages of the bike leg of the PTWC, rendering her bike unridable and forcing her to withdraw from the event.

International results

*2015 – Penrith OTU Paratriathlon Oceania Championships – PT1 – 1st *2015 – Sunshine Coast ITU World Paratriathlon Event – PT1 – 1st *2015 – Yokohama ITU World Paratriathlon Event – PT1 – 1st *2015 – Detroit ITU World Paratriathlon Event - PT1 - 2nd *2015 – ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago – PT1 – 2nd *2016 – Devonport OTU Paratriathlon Oceania Championships – PT1 – 1st *2016 – Penrith ITU World Paratriathlon Event – PT1 – 1st *2017 – Rotterdam ITU World Championships Final – PTWC – 1st *2018 – Commonwealth Games – PWTC – 2nd *2018 - Gold Coast World Championships Final - 1st *2019 - Lausanne ITU World Championships Final - PTWC - 6th *2021 - Tokyo Summer Paralympics - PTWC - Did not finish

Athletics

Tapp is classified as a T54 athlete. Representing the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

, she came fourth in the Women's 1500m at the 2016

Australian Athletics Championships The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athle ...

. Tapp finished second to Christie Dawes in 2016 Gold Coast Marathon Women's Wheelchair race. She was selected for the 2016 Rio Paralympics in athletics but she suffered a burn on her leg three weeks before she left for a training camp in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The skin graft did not heal in time.

Recognition

*2018 - Canberra Sport Awards -Athlete of the Year Para Sport *2018 - Triathlon Australia Female Para Triathlon Performance of the Year *2019 - Triathlon Australia Female Para Triathlon Performance of the Year

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tapp, Emily 1991 births Commonwealth Games silver medallists in triathlon Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Living people Paralympic athletes for Australia Triathletes at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic triathletes for Australia Triathletes at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games