Roy Fowler (Paralympian)
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nickname | Chook | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 22 March 1920 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 19 September 2002 | (aged 82)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Roy Fowler (22 March 1920[1] – 19 September 2002)[2] was an Australian Paralympic competitor, who won ten medals at six Paralympics from 1964 to 1988.
Personal
Fowler was born in Brisbane.[1] He played rugby league and competed in swimming for his school until he was twelve, when he went to the outback to work at a drover's camp during the Great Depression.[3] At the age of fourteen, he had his first professional fight.[3] During World War II, he was a gunner in the 2/2 Tank Attack Regiment of the Australian Army,[1] and after the war, he toured Australia as part of a tag team professional wrestling circuit.[3]
In 1963 he had a
Fowler was also an accomplished artist, painting during his spare time. He was also well known in Brisbane's horse racing community, becoming a part-owner of racehorses during his regular Saturday visits to racetracks when his sporting commitments allowed.[citation needed]
Competitive career
Fowler's first international competition was the 1964 Tokyo Games,[3] where he won three gold medals in swimming in the Men's 25 m Breaststroke complete class 1, Men's 25 m Freestyle Prone complete class 1, and Men's 25 m Freestyle Supine complete class 1 events, and two silver medals in archery in the Men's St. Nicholas Round open and Men's St. Nicholas Round Team open events.[4] In archery, he also won a silver medal in the Men's FITA Round open event and a bronze medal in the Men's FITA Round Team open event at the 1972 Heidelberg Games, and participated but did not win any medals in both archery and dartchery at the 1968 Tel Aviv and 1976 Toronto games.[4] His favourite sport was archery, and he reached the top 20 in the world in non-disabled archery competition.[3] In 1981 he took up
Recognition
In 2000 at the age of 80, Fowler participated in the Paralympic torch relay.[6] That year, he received an Australian Sports Medal.[7]
References
- ^ a b c "Roy Fowler". World War II Nominal Roll. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Fowler, Roy". The Queensland Times. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ ISBN 0958529191.
- ^ a b c "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
- ^ "The history of people with disabilities in Australia – 100 years: Sport". Disability Services Australia. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
- ^ Newman, Geoffrey (11 October 2000). "Axe boy gives bias the chop". The Australian. p. 4.
- ^ "Fowler, Roy: Australian Sports Medal". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2012.