Gregory "Greg" Ian Ball, OAM (born 29 May 1974) is an Australian Paralympic cyclist.

Personal

Ball was born in

Ipswich, Queensland Ipswich () is an urban centre within the City of Ipswich in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated on the Bremer River (Queensland), Bremer River, it is approximately 40 km (25 mi) west of the Brisbane central business district. Ipswich is ...

on 29 May 1974, and was diagnosed with

transverse myelitis Transverse myelitis (TM) is a rare neurological condition wherein the spinal cord is Inflammation, inflamed. The adjective ''wikt:transverse#Adjective, transverse'' implies that the spinal inflammation (myelitis) extends horizontally throughout ...

Career

211000 - Cycling track Matthew Gray Greg Ball Paul Lake gold podium 2 - 3b - 2000 Sydney podium photo

Ball first competed for Australia in 1998, winning and breaking the world record in the 1 km time trial at the World Titles in that year. He won a gold medal 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 mixed Olympic Sprint LC1–3 event, 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 ...

. In 2002, he once again won the 1 km time trial event at the World Titles. At the 2004 Athens Games, he won two gold medals in the Men's 1 km Time Trial Bicycle LC1–4 and Men's Team Sprint LC1–4/CP 3/4 events. At the 2008 Beijing Games, he won a bronze medal in the Men's 1 km Time Trial LC3–4 event. On 4 February 2011, he broke a world record in the C1 men's 1 km time trial at the Scody Cycling Australia Track National Championships; it was the fastest time since a change in the classification system in 2010. He voluntarily took a drug test to ensure the validation of his record, and tested positive for the banned substance

stanozolol Stanozolol (Abbreviation, abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is a synthetic androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American ph ...

, an

anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are a class of drugs that are structurally related to testosterone, the main male sex hormone, and produce effects by binding to the androgen receptor (AR). Anabolism, Anaboli ...

. He was provisionally suspended on 9 March 2011, and on 26 October 2011, the

Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) was a Australian Government, government statutory authority tasked to protect Australia's sporting integrity through the elimination of doping in sport, doping. The authority was part of the D ...

(ASADA) announced that it had acknowledged the two-year ban imposed on Ball by Cycling Australia, backdated to the date of the provisional suspension. The ban prevented him from participating in the 2012 London Paralympics. He was also ordered to pay back $27,500 in grants to the

Australian Sports Commission The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is the Australian Government commission responsible for supporting and investing in sport in Australia. The Commission incorporates the Australian Institute of Sport. From 2018 to 2022, it was known as S ...

, and was stripped of his February 2011 world record. Ball said that taking the steroids was an honest mistake that had devastated him. In his submission to ASADA, he said that he had been suffering depression for the previous twelve months and admitted that he had taken "up to four tablets, the name and exact constituents of which he did not know at the time (and still does not know), obtained from a close friend"; he said that he believed the tablets were vitamins that would help him to recover from depression.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Greg Paralympic cyclists for Australia Australian male cyclists Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Cyclists at the 2008 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 cycling Les Autres-category Paralympic competitors Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Cyclists from Queensland Sportsmen from Queensland Sportspeople from Ipswich, Queensland Doping cases in Australian cycling 1974 births Living people