Kurt Fearnley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Kurt Fearnley
AO PLY

2012 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Fearnley
Personal information
Born	(1981-03-23) 23 March 1981 (age 44) Cowra, New South Wales, Australia
Height	140 cm
Weight	50 kg
Sport
Country	Australia
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Paralympic Games 3 7 3 World Championships 4 0 1 Commonwealth Games 2 2 0 Total 9 9 4 Men's athletics Paralympic Games Gold 2004 Athens 5000 m T54 Gold 2004 Athens Marathon T54 Gold 2008 Beijing Marathon T54 Silver 2000 Sydney 800 m T54 Silver 2000 Sydney 4×100 m relay T53/T54 Silver 2004 Athens 4×100 m relay T53/T54 Silver 2008 Beijing 800 m T54 Silver 2008 Beijing 5000 m T54 Silver 2012 London 5000 m T54 Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro Marathon T54 Bronze 2008 Beijing 1500 m T54 Bronze 2012 London Marathon T54 Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro 5000 m T53/54 IPC Athletics World Championships Gold 2006 Assen 800 m T54 Gold 2006 Assen 5000 m T54 Gold 2006 Assen Marathon T54 Gold 2011 Christchurch Marathon T54 Bronze 2006 Assen 1500 m T54 Commonwealth Games Gold 2010 Delhi 1500 m T54 Gold 2018 Gold Coast Marathon T54 Silver 2014 Glasgow 1500 m T54 Silver 2018 Gold Coast 1500 m T54

Kurt Harry Fearnley (born 23 March 1981) is an amazing Australian wheelchair racer. He has won many gold medals at the Paralympic Games. He even crawled the tough Kokoda Track without his wheelchair!

Kurt was born with a condition called sacral agenesis. This meant parts of his lower spine did not form properly. In Paralympic sports, he competes in the T54 classification. He is known for his long and middle-distance wheelchair races. He has also won medals in sprint relays.

Kurt has competed in five Summer Paralympic Games: 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. He finished his Paralympic career with 13 medals. These include three gold, seven silver, and three bronze medals. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, he won a gold and a silver medal. He was also chosen to be Australia's flag bearer at the closing ceremony.

Kurt's Early Life and Family

Kurt Fearnley was born on 23 March 1981 in Cowra, New South Wales. He was the youngest of five children. Doctors thought he might not live longer than a week because of his condition. But Kurt proved them wrong!

He grew up in a place called Carcoar. At school, he loved playing all kinds of sports. This included athletics and rugby league. He won his first athletics medal in the long jump. Kurt started wheelchair racing when he was 14. By age 17, he was competing at a very high level.

After finishing high school, he moved to Sydney to train. He also started studying for a degree. Today, he lives in Newcastle and is a teacher. Kurt is 1.4 meters tall and weighs 50 kilograms.

In 2010, Kurt married Sheridan Rosconi. They met while studying at Charles Sturt University. Their first son, Harry, was born in 2013. Their daughter, Emilia, was born in 2017. In 2014, Kurt wrote a book about his life called Pushing the Limits: Life, Marathons & Kokoda.

Kurt's Amazing Sporting Career

Fearnley waving to the crowd at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics

Fearnley racing at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics

In 1997, Kurt joined the Western Region Academy of Sport. By the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, he was representing Australia. At these Games, Kurt won two silver medals. These were in the 800-meter race and the 4×100-meter relay. He also competed in a special demonstration race, finishing fourth.

At the 2004 Athens Paralympics, Kurt won two gold medals! He won the 5000-meter race and the marathon. For these wins, he received a special award called the Medal of the Order of Australia. In 2006, at the World Para Athletics Championships, he won three more gold medals and one bronze.

At his third Paralympics in Beijing, he won another gold medal in the marathon. He also earned two silver medals and a bronze medal.

Conquering Challenges Beyond the Track

On 30 September 2009, Kurt climbed the 1,504 stairs of Sydney's Centrepoint Tower. He did it in just 20 minutes! This was faster than most able-bodied people. In 2009, he won many major marathons around the world. These included New York City, Chicago, Seoul, Paris, London, and Sydney.

In November 2009, Kurt took on an incredible challenge. He crawled the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea. This famous trail is 96 kilometers long. He completed the journey in 10 days with family and friends. He did this to support charities like Movember and Beyond Blue. In 2009, he was named the Young Australian of the Year for New South Wales.

Kurt is also a strong supporter of people with disabilities. He has been an ambassador for the "Don't DIS my ABILITY" campaign. In 2010, he won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

Fearnley racing at the 2012 London Paralympics

In 2011, Kurt won the marathon at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Zealand. Later that year, he even competed in the 2011 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. At the 2012 London Paralympics, he aimed to win three marathons in a row. He won a bronze medal in the marathon and a silver in the 5000-meter race.

At the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Kurt won a bronze medal. He had been battling a virus before the race. In November 2014, he won his fifth New York Marathon. He said it was one of the toughest races because of strong winds.

In 2016, at his last Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Kurt won a silver medal in the marathon. He also won a bronze medal in the 5000-meter race. He said, "One of my biggest strengths is that I deal with discomfort better than most."

At the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Kurt won gold in the marathon. He also won silver in the 1500-meter race. He was given the special honor of being the flag bearer at the closing ceremony. Kurt was coached by Andrew Dawes.

Kurt's Media Career

After retiring from racing, Kurt started a career in media. He has been involved in several projects:

• He hosts podcasts called "Kurt Fearnley's Tiny Island".
• Since 2020, he has hosted the ABC TV show Kurt Fearnley's One Plus One.
• In 2021, he hosted "What Does Australia Really Think About Disability?" on SBS.
• He was even the voice of a Television Commentator character on the popular Australian kids' show Bluey!

Kurt's Leadership Roles

Kurt's experience in disability sports has led him to join several important groups. He helps make decisions and guide these organizations:

• International Paralympic Committee Athletes Council (since 2016)
• Australian Paralympic Committee (since 2016, Vice-chairman since 2019)
• Australian Sports Commission (since 2019)
• Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee (since 2021)
• National Disability Insurance Agency Chair (since 2022)

Awards and Recognition

Fearnley meets Quentin Bryce and The Queen in 2011

Kurt Fearnley has received many awards and honors for his achievements:

• 2005 – Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
• 2007 – New South Wales Institute of Sport Athlete of the Year
• 2009 – New South Wales Young Australian of the Year
• 2014 – AIS Sport Performance Awards – Sport Personality of the Year
• 2016 – A visitor hub in Centennial Park was named "Fearnley Grounds" after him.
• 2016 – He was Team Captain for the Australian Team at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
• 2018 – Australian flag bearer at the 2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony.
• 2018 – Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). This was for his great service to people with a disability, and for supporting charities.
• 2018 – Sport Australia Hall of Fame 'Don Award'. This award celebrates the sporting achievement that has inspired Australians. Kurt was the first athlete with a disability to win it!
• 2019 – New South Wales Australian of the Year
• 2019 – The Kurt Fearnley Scholarship was created to help talented Para-sport athletes.
• 2020 – A river-class ferry in Sydney was named in his honor.
• 2022 – Inducted into the Paralympics Australia Hall of Fame.
• 2023 – Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Images for kids

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  2012 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Fearnley

See Also

In Spanish: Kurt Fearnley para niños