Elizabeth Wright (swimmer)

Elizabeth Wright

Wright on the silver medal podium for the 400 m freestyle S6 at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Personal information
Nationality  Australia
Born (1979-11-09) 9 November 1979
Medal record
Swimming
Paralympic Games
2000 Sydney Women's 400 m Freestyle S6
1996 Atlanta Women's 50 m Butterfly S6
2000 Sydney Women's 4x50 m Freestyle relay 20 pts

Elizabeth Wright (born 9 November 1979) is an Australian Paralympic swimmer who won one bronze at the 1996 Summer Paralympics and a bronze and silver at the 2000 Summer Paralympics.[1] She also has a Master of Philosophy in fine arts (photography).

Early life

Wright was born on 9 November 1979,[2] and is from the New South Wales town of Cooranbong.[3] She was born with a congenital limb deficiency. Her right arm is missing at the elbow, her right leg is "severely shortened" requiring the use of a prosthesis and she is lacking two fingers and the forearm bone of her left hand.[4]

Swimming career

Wright's swimming career at the highest level lasted for seven years.[5] Her classification during this time was S6.[6] She swam for the Gosford Amateur Swimming Club.[7] and was a New South Wales Institute of Sport swimmer.[8] She attended the opening of the Wesley Mission's Mangrove Mountain Retreat swimming pool.[9] At the 1996 Atlanta Games she won a bronze medal in the Women's 50 m Butterfly S6 event.[1] In January 2000, she attended the Australia Day Celebrations in Forest Park as a Paralympic Ambassador.[10] She competed in the 2000 Sydney Games where she won a silver medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S6 event, and a bronze medal as part of the Australian women's team in the 4 x 50 m Freestyle Relay.[1]

Academic career

Wright first attended the University of Newcastle in 2003 at her mother's urging to explore her love of art in that setting.[5] She enrolled in the university's Open Foundation program,[5] which is intended for students over twenty years old who are entering university for the first time,[11] before transitioning to Central Coast campus to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts.[5] She studied abroad at University of Leeds in her third year at the university.[5] In 2008, she attended the University of Newcastle, where she completed a Master of Philosophy in Fine Art (Photography).[4][5] She later attended the University of Leeds as a Doctorate of Philosophy student doing research in the fine arts.[12] At the Canadian Association for Women’s Public History Conference, "Women’s Bodies in a Public History Context" in Ottawa, Canada, she presented a paper titled "self (un)contained: revealing the authentic experience of disability within a feminist context’.[12] She had a paper published in the University of Edinburgh’s Postgraduate Journal of Culture and the Arts titled "My Prosthetic and I: identity representation in bodily extension."[12] Currently Wright is working with the overseas disability charity CBM as their Sports Ambassador.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Results for Elizabeth Wright from the International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Australian Paralympic Committee (2000). Media guide : 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games. Sydney, Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee.
  3. ↑ "Newcastle Herald Index". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  4. 1 2 Wright, Elizabeth. "About Elizabeth". Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "THE FINE ART OF SUCCESS" (PDF). University of Newcastle. 2008. p. 8. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "The Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games". Australian Institute of Sport. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Gosford Amateur Swimming Club Handbook" (PDF). Gosford Amateur Swimming Club. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "NSWIS Olympic and Paralympic Medallists" (PDF). New South Wales Institute of Sport. 2000. p. 2. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games". 12 October 2000. p. 9191. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Rotary History". Rotary International, Epping. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "Who Can Apply? Open Foundation". University of Newcastle. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  12. 1 2 3 "High flying graduates in Arts and Health". University of Newcastle. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  13. ↑ "Olympic Medalist becomes CBM's Paralympics Sports Ambassador". CBMUK. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
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