Bruce Wallrodt

Bruce Wallrodt, OAM[1] (26 September 1951 – 2 July 2019) was an Australian Paralympic athlete. He competed at five Paralympic Games and won nine medals, four of them gold.

Bruce Wallrodt

Wallrodt seen waving to the crowds during javelin competition at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Personal information
Full name	Bruce Wallrodt
Nationality	Australia
Born	(1951-09-26)26 September 1951 Bunbury, Western Australia
Died	2 July 2019(2019-07-02) (aged 67) Perth, Western Australia
Medal record Athletics Paralympic Games 1988 Seoul Men's Shot Put 2 1988 Seoul Men's Javelin 2 1992 Barcelona Men's Javelin THW4 1996 Atlanta Men's Shot Put F53 1992 Barcelona Men's Discus THW4 1992 Barcelona Men's Shot Put THW4 2000 Sydney men's shot put T54 1988 Seoul Men's Discus 2 1996 Atlanta Men's Javelin F53 World Championships and Games for the Disabled 1990 Assen Men's Shot Put F4 1990 Assen Men's F4 Discus IPC Athletics World Championships 2002 Lille Men's Shot Put F54

Personal

Wallrodt was born on 26 September 1951 in the Western Australian city of Bunbury.[2] He attended South Bunbury Primary School and Newton Moore Senior High School. After leaving school, he worked as a fitter and turner until the age of 29, when he had a spinal haemorrhage that left him paraplegic.[3]

Career

Bruce Wallrodt prepares to throw in the F53 seated javelin event in which he won a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics

Bruce Wallrodt throwing discus at 1992 Paralympics

Sport to me was an extended arm of the rehabilitation process and made me realise that there was little that I could not do even if I had to do it from a wheelchair. Competing and mixing with my peers showed me that the upper limits of my capabilities were far greater than I had thought possible. Sport opened up many doors that seemingly would have remained closed had I not been involved with it. There is mot a lot a person in a chair cannot do if they put their minds to it.

Bruce Wallrodt[4]

In the 1988 Seoul Games, Wallrodt won two gold medals in the Men's Shot Put 2 and the Men's Javelin 2 events, and a bronze medal in the Men's Discus 2 event.[5] At the 1990 World Championships and Games for the Disabled in Assen, Netherlands he won gold medals in the Men's Shot Put and Discus F4 events.[6] At the 1992 Barcelona Games, he won a gold medal in the Men's Javelin THW4 event (for which he received a Medal of The Order of Australia),[1] and two silver medals in the Men's Discus THW4 and the Men's Shot Put THW4 events.[5] Going into the 1992 Games, he was a world record holder in discus, javelin and shot put.[7] In the 1996 Atlanta Games, he won a gold medal in the Men's Shot Put F53 event, in which he broke a world record, and a bronze medal in the Men's Javelin F53 event.[5][8] In 2000, he received an Australian Sports Medal.[9] He won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Games in the men's shot put T54 event[10] and came 4th in the Men's Javelin F54 – event.[11] At the 2004 Athens Games, he came fifth in both the Men's Javelin F54[12] and the Men's Shot Put F54 events.[13]

Wallrodt died on 2 July 2019 at the age of 67.[14]

References

1. "Wallrodt, Bruce, OAM". Australian Honours Search Facility. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
2. "Australians at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics: Athletes". Australian Sports Commission. Archived from the original on 20 January 2000. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
3. "Former Paralympian gold medalist to give on track keynote address" (PDF). City of Bunbury. 14 October 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
4. Mather-Brown, Bill (2002). The fight in the dog. Perth: T. Beck. p. 274. ISBN 0958000107.
5. "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
6. World Championships and Games for the Disabled – Athletics Results. Netherlands: Organising Committee. 1990.
7. Barcelona Paralympics 1992 : Australian team members profile handbook. Glebe, New South Wales: Australian Paralympic Federation. 1992. 20779.
8. walker, Kylie (28 October 2000). "Insatiable appetite". The Newcastle Herald. p. 50.
9. "Wallrodt, Bruce: Australian Sports Medal". Australian Honours Search Facility. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
10. "Australian Honour Roll". Australian Paralympic Committee Annual Report 2010. Australian Paralympic Committee: 10. 2010.
11. "Results for the 2000 Men's Javelin F54 -". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
12. "Results for the 2004 Men's Javelin F54". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
13. "Results for the 2004 Men's Shot Put F54". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
14. Robertson, Lauren (4 July 2019). "Vale Bruce Wallrodt OAM". News. Paralympics Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2020.

External links

• Athletics Australia Results