Eric Boulter (born 15 October 1952) is an Australian swimmer, athlete, and

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as ...

player who won two medals at the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics.

Personal

Boulter was born in Melbourne on 15 October 1952. While on a cycling holiday on the Gold Coast in 1969, he had a fall at the Nerang Velodrome which left him paraplegic. Outside of sport, Boulter worked for a speedboat charter business until 1984 before serving his local city council for 22 years. He moved to

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

in 2012.

Competitive career

Boulter temporarily checked out of hospital to represent Queensland in his first National Disabled Championships in 1970. He then returned to the Gold Coast and searched for a coach. He found Dave Tomlinson, who worked with him for the rest of his career. He was the captain of the Australian swimming team at the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics, where he won a gold medal in the Men's 25 m Backstroke 2 event, in which he broke a world record, and a silver medal in the Men's 3x25 m Medley 2 event; he also came fifth in the Men's 25 m Freestyle 2 – event. He was also the captain of the Australian swimming team at the 1974 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand, where he won two gold medals in the Men's 25 m Backstroke and Men's 4x50 m Medley Relay events, and two silver medals in the Men's 25 m Freestyle and Men's 3x25 m Individual Medley events; he broke a Commonwealth record in the backstroke. At the

1977 FESPIC Games The 2nd FESPIC Games was a multi-sport event for Far East and South Pacific athletes with a disability held in Parramatta, Australia. The Games were opened on November 20, 1977, by Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser, Prime Minister of Australia and ...

in Sydney, he won a gold medal in the Men's 25 m Backstroke event and two silver medals in the Men's 25 m Freestyle and Men's Pentathlon events. He also played

, representing Queensland in national championships from 1976 until his retirement from sport in 1984.

Recognition

Boulter was inducted into the Gold Coast Sporting Hall of Fame in 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulter, Eric Australian men's wheelchair basketball players Male Paralympic swimmers for Australia Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in swimming Wheelchair-category Paralympic competitors People with paraplegia Australian male freestyle swimmers Australian male backstroke swimmers Swimmers from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state) 20th-century Australian sportsmen 1952 births Living people