Pam Nugent (née Foley) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She was studying to be a nurse at
Mater Hospital in
Townsville
The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
, when she became paralysed from the waist down at the age of 19 after her new motorbike crashed over
Castle Hill.
She took up swimming after the accident to strengthen her arms.
At the
1972 Heidelberg Paralympics, she won two silver medals in the Women's 25 m Freestyle 2 and Women's 3x25 m Medley 2 events. She married Paralympic athlete and wheelchair manufacturer
Mike Nugent
Michael Nugent (born March 2, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio State Buckeye ...
in 1975; who died in May 2024.
References
Female Paralympic swimmers for Australia
Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 1972 Summer Paralympics
Paralympic medalists in swimming
Paralympic silver medalists for Australia
Australian female freestyle swimmers
Wheelchair-category Paralympic competitors
People with paraplegia
20th-century Australian sportswomen
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
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