Michael Alwyn Nugent (28 August 1946 – 6 May 2024) was an Australian Paralympic athlete and wheelchair manufacturer, who won six medals at four Paralympics.

Background

Nugent was paralysed in a motorbike accident and first became involved in wheelchair sport at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane in 1963 at the age of 17. He began in

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 ...

and field events at Kingshome Rehabilitation Centre and became interested in canoeing due to physiotherapist Vernon Hill. He married Paralympic swimmer Pam Foley in 1975. In 1977 he started a Brisbane-based wheelchair-manufacturing business, Surgical Engineering. He died on 6 May 2024, at the age of 77.

Competitive career

Nugent competed at his first National Games in Perth in 1968, and was a regular part of the Queensland team for the games in the 1970s and 1980s. His first international competition was 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. Once his family and business life settled, he began training six days a week to pursue his interest in international competition. At his first Paralympics, the 1980 Arnhem Games, he won a gold medal in the Men's 200 m 3 event and a silver medal in the Men's 400 m 3 event. His world record-breaking 200 m performance at the 1980 games was recognised as the best international performance by an Australian wheelchair athlete in that year. At the 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville Games, he won a gold medal and broke a world record in the Men's 400 m 2 event and two bronze medals in the Men's 800 m 2 and Men's 1,500 m 2 events. At the 1988 Seoul Games, he won a bronze medal in the Men's 200 m 2 event; he had a flat tyre during the early stages of the marathon, but still finished the race to support his teammates. He also participated but did not win any medals in athletics events at the 1992 Barcelona Games. An avid wheelchair basketballer, he participated in the

Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team The Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team is the men's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Rollers. Australia took the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Paralymp ...

at the 1986 Gold Cup and was an integral member of the Queensland state wheelchair basketball team. After his retirement from Paralympic competition, he focused on road-racing events to both compete and promote his new wheelchair designs. He participated in all major international wheelchair road-racing events, including the

Beppu-Ōita Marathon The is an annual men's marathon race that takes place every February between the cities of Beppu and Ōita, Ōita, Ōita on the island of Kyushu in Japan. The race has IAAF Silver Label Road Race status and is a listed course of AIMS (Associati ...

, the

Sempach Sempach is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Sursee (Amt), Sursee in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Lucerne (canton), Lucerne in Switzerland. History It has retained some traces of its medieval appearance, ...

Marathon, and the

Peachtree Road Race The Peachtree Road Race (branded AJC Peachtree Road Race for sponsorship reasons) is a series of two 10-kilometer runs held annually in Atlanta, once during the first weekend of January and the other on Independence Day. They are held on the sa ...

Recognition

*1988 – Queensland Sporting Wheelie of the Year *2009 -Queensland Sport Hall of Fame Athlete Member

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent, Mike 1946 births 2024 deaths Paralympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic silver medalists for Australia Paralympic bronze medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) FESPIC Games competitors Australian male wheelchair racers Australian men's wheelchair basketball players People with paraplegia Athletes from Brisbane Sportsmen from Queensland 20th-century Australian sportsmen