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 on March 23, 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 means 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 competed in five Summer Paralympic Games: 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. He finished his Paralympic career with a total of thirteen medals. These included 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 the Australian flag bearer at the closing ceremony.

Kurt Fearnley's Early Life

Kurt Fearnley was born in Cowra, New South Wales on March 23, 1981. 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 Carcoar, New South Wales. As a kid, he loved all kinds of sports. He played athletics and rugby league. His first athletics medal was for the long jump. He started wheelchair racing when he was 14. By age 17, he was competing at a very high level.

After high school, Kurt moved to Sydney to train. He also started studying for a degree in Human Movement. Today, he lives in Newcastle, New South Wales and works as a teacher. He 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 Fearnley's Racing Career

Fearnley waving to the crowd at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics

Fearnley racing at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics

In 1997, Kurt was part of 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 demonstration event, the Men's 1500-meter wheelchair race, where he finished fourth.

In 2002, he went to the IPC Athletics World Championships in Birmingham, England. He finished seventh in both the 400-meter and 800-meter T54 events.

Paralympic and World Championship Success

At the 2004 Olympic Games, Kurt finished fifth in the demonstration Men's 1500-meter wheelchair race. After this, he won two gold medals at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. These were for the 5000-meter T54 and marathon T54 events. For these wins, he received a Medal of the Order of Australia.

At the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships in Assen, Netherlands, he won three gold medals and one bronze medal. He competed in his third Paralympics in Beijing. There, he won a gold medal in the marathon T54. He also earned two silver medals in the 800-meter T54 and 5000-meter T54 events. He added a bronze medal in the 1500-meter T54 event.

Amazing Challenges and Advocacy

On September 30, 2009, Kurt trained by climbing Sydney's Centrepoint Tower. He climbed its 1,504 fire stairs in just 20 minutes. This was faster than most able-bodied people. In 2009, he won his fourth New York City Marathon title. He also won his third straight title in the Chicago Marathon. He had victories in Seoul, Paris, London, and Sydney.

In November 2009, Fearnley crawled the Kokoda Trail. He was joined by family and friends. He did this to support charities like Movember and Beyond Blue. He completed the 96-kilometer journey in 10 days. In 2009, he was named the Young Australian of the Year for New South Wales.

Kurt is also very active in helping others. He was an ambassador for the "Don't DIS my ABILITY" campaign for four years. He was also an ambassador for International Day of People with Disability in 2010. In 2010, Kurt competed in the New York marathon again, finishing third. His image was even featured on the medal for the 2010 Blackmores Sydney Running Festival. He also won a gold medal at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games in the 1500-meter T54 event.

Later Career and Achievements

In early 2011, at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand, Kurt won the marathon. Later that year, he competed in the 2011 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

Fearnley racing at the 2012 London Paralympics

At the 2012 London Paralympics, he hoped to be the first person to win three marathon T54 gold medals in a row. Instead, he won a bronze medal in the Men's Marathon T54. He also won a silver medal in the Men's 5000-meter T54.

Kurt won a bronze medal in the 1500-meter T54 at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. He had been battling a virus before the event. In November 2014, he won his fifth New York Marathon men's wheelchair event. He said it was one of the toughest races because of strong winds.

At the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, he finished fourth in the Men's 5000-meter T54. He did not reach the final of the Men's 1500-meter T54. He then went straight to the New York Marathon, where he finished fifth after a crash. On Australia Day 2016, he won the Oz Day 10K Wheelchair Road Race for the tenth time. This made him a ten-time winner, like Louise Sauvage.

At his last Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Kurt won a silver medal in the Men's Marathon T54. He also won a bronze medal in the Men's 5000-meter T53/54. He said he would race in the wheelchair marathon at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. He also planned to continue racing marathons internationally. After the marathon, Kurt said, "One of my biggest strengths is that I deal with discomfort better than most."

At the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London, England, Kurt finished sixth in both the Men's 1500-meter and 5000-meter T54 events.

At the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Kurt won the gold medal in the Men's Marathon T54. He also won silver in the Men's 1500-meter T54. He was honored to be the flag bearer at the closing ceremony.

Kurt Fearnley was coached by Andrew Dawes at the New South Wales Institute of Sport.

Kurt Fearnley's Media Work

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

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

Kurt Fearnley's Board Roles

Kurt's wide experience in disability sports has led him to join several important boards:

• Australian Volunteers International (2015–2016)
• Australia Day Council of NSW
• National Disability Insurance Scheme's Independent Advisory Council (2013–2016)
• International Paralympic Committee Athletes Council (2016–2022)
• Australian Paralympic Committee (2016–2019), becoming Vice-chairman in 2019
• Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation (2018–present)
• Australian Sports Commission (2019–2024)
• Brisbane Organising Committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games (2021–present) – as a Paralympics Australia athlete representative
• National Disability Insurance Agency Chair (2022–present)

Awards and Recognition

Fearnley meets Quentin Bryce and The Queen at Government House, Canberra, 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
• 2007 – Western Region Academy Hall of Fame inductee
• 2007 – Confederation of Australian Sport Athlete of the Year with a Disability
• 2007 – New South Wales Sports Federation Athlete of the Year
• 2007 – Laureus World Sports Awards finalist
• 2009 – New South Wales Young Australian of the Year
• 2009 – Laureus World Sports Awards finalist
• 2011 – The Age's Sport Performer Award in the Performer with a Disability nominee
• 2014 – Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre Path of Champions inductee
• 2014 – AIS Sport Performance Awards – Sport Personality of the Year
• 2016 – Centennial Park's visitor hub was officially named Fearnley Grounds
• 2016 – Team Captain with Daniela Di Toro 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 and indigenous athletics.
• 2018 – Sport Australia Hall of Fame 'Don Award'. This award celebrates the sporting achievement that has inspired Australians the most. Kurt was the first athlete with a disability to win it.
• 2018 – GQ Sporting Legend
• 2019 – New South Wales Australian of the Year
• 2018 – AIS Sport Performance Awards – ABC Best Sporting Moment of The Year
• 2019 – The Kurt Fearnley Scholarship was created by Commonwealth Games Australia and the Carbine Club of NSW. It helps talented Para-sport athletes in NSW.
• 2019 – Patron for International Day of People with Disability.
• 2020 – A river-class ferry on the Sydney Ferries network was named in his honor.
• 2021 – New York Road Runners (NYRR) Hall of Fame
• 2022 – Paralympics Australia Hall of Fame
• 2022 – New South Wales Institute of Sport 'Most Outstanding'
• 2023 – Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductee

See also

In Spanish: Kurt Fearnley para niños