Heath_Francis

Heath Francis

Heath Francis

Australian Paralympic athlete

Heath Wesley Francis, OAM[1] (born 16 November 1981 in Newcastle, New South Wales[2] is an Australian athlete who has participated in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Paralympics. His right arm was amputated at the age of seven as a result of a mincing accident on his family farm in Booral, New South Wales.[3]

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Francis shown wrapped in the Australian flag and holding his gold medal won in the Men's 4 x 100 m T46 relay at the 2000 Summer Paralympic Games

Professional career

At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics he became the first arm amputee athlete to win the sprint treble (100m, 200m and 400m events) at a Paralympics, a feat he accomplished 2 years earlier at the 2006 IPC World Championships. He competes in the T46 classification for arm amputees, where he is the current 200m (21.74s) & 400m (47.63s) World Record holder. Both World Record times were run at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. In 2000, his competitive sport participation was sponsored by the New South Wales WorkCover.

He received a Medal of The Order of Australia for his 2000 gold medals.[1] He also received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Centenary Medal in 2001. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder from 2003 to 2010 and was coached by Irina Dvoskina. In 2014, he was inducted into the Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre Path of Champions.

Francis at the end of the 400m at the 2008 Beijing Games

Personal life

Heath Francis completed his Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Business Degrees from the University of Newcastle (2000–2007) whilst training at the Australian Institute of Sport.[4]

Francis turned his focus to advancing his professional career and used his profile as a Paralympic athlete to increase awareness of .[5] He currently works for Westpac Bank. He also had joined charity organization like CARE Australia and The Australian Himalayan Foundation.

As an ambassador for Good Return, Francis join Charity event like Sun run, had raised more than $17,000 for funding training and consumer protection work to give people living in poverty the chance to grow their incomes safely and effectively.[6]

References

  1. [1]
    "Francis, Heath Wesley, OAM". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  2. [2]
    Australian Media Guide : 2000 Paralympic Games, Sydney, Australia. Canberra: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2000. p. 25.
  3. [3]
    "Heath Francis Athlete Profile". Australian Paralympic Committee website. Australian paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  4. [4]
    SAHYOUN, Daniel (9 August 2016). "Paralympic Gold Medallist Heath Francis". News Of The Area. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  5. [5]
    "Ambassadors – Good Return". Good Return. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  6. [6]
    "Sun Run 2016 – Good Return". Good Return. 10 February 2016. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
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