Kevin Coombs facts for kids
Coombs carries the Paralympic torch as part of the torch relay at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Opening Ceremony
|
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin Richard Coombs |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | 30 May 1941 Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 5 October 2023 (aged 82) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Australia |
| Sport | Wheelchair basketball |
Kevin Richard Coombs, OAM PLY (born May 30, 1941 – died October 5, 2023) was an amazing Australian wheelchair basketball player and athlete. He competed in five Paralympic Games, including the very first one in 1960! He was also the first Aboriginal person from Australia to compete in the Paralympics.
Contents
About Kevin Coombs
It was a really big effort because they [the medical team] didn't know how we were going to travel – we didn't know how we were going to travel either.
Kevin Coombs was born on May 30, 1941, in a town called Swan Hill in Victoria, Australia. His parents were Cecil Coombs and Rosie Clayton. When he was five, his mother passed away. Kevin and his four brothers and sisters then lived with relatives in Balranald, New South Wales.
When Kevin was 12, he had an accident while shooting rabbits and was shot in the back. This accident meant he became a paraplegic, which means he couldn't move his legs. He spent time recovering at the Royal Austin Rehabilitation Hospital in Melbourne. There, he discovered sports as part of his recovery. One of the sports he loved was wheelchair basketball.
He played in the first Australian wheelchair basketball championships in 1960. After that, he was chosen to compete at the 1960 Summer Paralympics. Kevin only took one wheelchair to the Games, the one he used every day. It was quite heavy, weighing about 40 kilograms (about 88 pounds)!
Outside of sports, Kevin worked for the Victorian Department of Human Services until 2000. He helped start the Koori Hospital Liaison Officer program. He also managed the Koori Health Unit. Before that, he worked for Community Services Victoria. He was a respected elder of the Wotjobaluk people.
Kevin Coombs had two daughters. One of his daughters, Rose Falla, became the first Aboriginal magistrate in Victoria. His other daughter, Janine, is the Deputy Chair of the Barengi Gadjin Land Council.
Kevin Coombs passed away on October 5, 2023, when he was 82 years old.
Kevin's Sporting Achievements
Kevin Coombs was a key player for the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team. He competed in many Paralympic Games:
- 1960 Rome Paralympics
- 1968 Tel Aviv Paralympics
- 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics
- 1980 Arnhem Paralympics
- 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville Paralympics
At the 1972 Games, he was both a coach and a captain. He was also captain at the 1984 Games. Besides basketball, he also took part in athletics events at the 1968 and 1972 Paralympics.
Kevin led the Australian wheelchair basketball team to a silver medal at the 1974 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Dunedin. He also captained the team to gold medals at the 1977 and 1982 FESPIC Games. He played in the 1983 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship.
Helping the Community
Kevin Coombs did a lot to help his community:
- He was the Chairman for the World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in 1986.
- He was an Ambassador for a program called 'National Indigenous Strategy for Literacy and Numeracy'.
- He coached the Victorian Junior wheelchair basketball team.
- He was a member of the Indigenous Committee for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Awards and Recognition
Kevin Coombs received many awards for his amazing work and dedication:
- In 1983, he received a Medal of the Order of Australia. This award recognized his service to sports for people with disabilities and to Aboriginal welfare.
- A street at Sydney Olympic Park was named after him.
- In 2000, he was chosen as one of the final torch bearers for the Paralympic torch relay. He carried the torch inside Stadium Australia during the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Paralympics.
- Also in 2000, he received an Australian Sports Medal.
- In 2007, Kevin Coombs was added to the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame.
- Basketball Australia holds a national competition for junior players called the Kevin Coombs Cup every year, starting in 2007.
- In 2011, a meeting room at the Victorian Department of Health and Department of Human Services was named in his honor.
- In 2012, he was added to the Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll.
- He was a life Member of Paravics / Wheelchair Sports Victoria.
- In December 2016, he was inducted into the Australian Paralympic Hall of Fame.
- At the 2016 Australian Paralympic Committee awards, a new award was created in his honor: the Uncle Kevin Coombs Medal for the Spirit of the Games.
See also
In Spanish: Kevin Coombs para niños
