Lynette Lepore,
(9 October 1961 – 8 January 2025) was an Australian Paralympic
tandem cyclist who won three medals at the
2000 Sydney Paralympics including a gold medal.
Paralympic Games

In 1994, Lepore competed at the IPC World Cycling Championships in Belgium with her tandem partner Tim Harris and they won the Mixed Individual 3000 m Track Pursuit.
She competed at the
1996 Atlanta Games with her partner Paul Lamond but did not win any medals at those games.
In 1998, with Paul Lamond she competed at the World Disabled Cycling Championships in
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...
in track and road events but they did not 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 ...
, she won a gold medal in the Women's Tandem open event for which she 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 ...
,
a silver medal in the Women's 1 km Time Trial Tandem open event and a bronze medal in the Women's Individual Pursuit Open event, with her pilot
Lynette Nixon.
In 2000, she 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 ...
.
Lepore appealed against
Kieran Modra
Kieran John Modra (27 March 1972 – 13 November 2019) was an Australian Paralympic swimmer and tandem cyclist. He won five gold and five bronze medals at eight Paralympic Games from 1988 to 2016, along with two silver medals at the 2014 Gla ...
's placement in the Australian Paralympic cycling team at the
2004 Athens Games, in a case that was successful at the
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
. Leading up to the games, Modra was piloted by
David Short and
Robert Crowe for sprint and endurance events, respectively. The appeal was on the grounds that Lepore deserved her place in the team because when each of Modra's pilot–rider combinations was counted separately, she had a higher rank than Modra.
The day before the opening ceremony, the
Australian Paralympic Committee
Paralympics Australia (PA) previously called the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (1998–2019) is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the preparation and management of Australian tea ...
successfully appealed to the
International Paralympic Committee
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement.
The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...
to give Modra an extra place in the team.
Lepore did not win any medals with her tandem pilot Jenny Macpherson at the 2004 Games due to a crash on their opening event leaving them both injured.
Transplant Games
In 2018, Lepore competed in the Australian Transplant Games on the
Gold Coast, Queensland.
In 2019, she competed in
that year's World Transplant Games in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
, England.
In 2023, at the age of 61, she competed in three sporting events at the World Transplant Games in
Perth, Western Australia
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
and won a silver medal in her division in tenpin bowling.
Personal life
Lepore was born on 9 October 1961 in
Geraldton, Western Australia
Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth.
As of the , Geraldton had an urban population of 38,595. Geraldton is the seat of ...
.
She and her two sisters were born with inherited retinal dystrophy, which involves having tunnel vision, night blindness and kidney disease.
In 1997, she was diagnosed with kidney disease and managed the condition for 18 years before she was forced onto dialysis.
Her nephew Adam Reeves donated one of his kidneys to her in 2016.
She trained and worked as a remedial massage therapist.
In 2016, Lepore graduated from
Edith Cowan University
Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public research university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is, , t ...
with a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science (Honours).
She was married to Paul Lamond.
Lepore was diagnosed with cancer in September 2024, and died at Glengarry Hospice, Perth, Western Australia on 8 January 2025, at the age of 63.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lepore, Lyn
1961 births
2025 deaths
Australian female cyclists
Paralympic cyclists for Australia
Paralympic medalists in cycling
Cyclists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics
Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Paralympic gold medalists for Australia
Paralympic silver medalists for Australia
Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia
Paralympic cyclists with a vision impairment
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Cyclists from Perth, Western Australia
Sportswomen from Western Australia
Australian blind people
20th-century Australian sportswomen
21st-century Australian sportswomen
Edith Cowan University alumni
Kidney transplant recipients