Daniel Michel

Daniel Michel (born 18 August 1995) is an Australian boccia player. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

Daniel Michel
2016 Australian Paralympic Team Portrait
Personal information
Nationality Australia
Born (1995-08-18) 18 August 1995
Maroubra, New South Wales, Australia
Sport
SportBoccia
Disability classBC3
Medal record
Boccia
World Championships
2018 LiverpoolMixed BC3
2018 LiverpoolIndividual BC3

Early life

Michel was born on 18 August 1995 in the eastern Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, before his family relocated to the Sutherland Shire in the early 2000s.[1] He was born with spinal muscular atrophy which means he has minimal movement and strength throughout his body.[2] Daniel attended Heathcote High School and graduated in 2013.

Boccia

Michel was introduced to boccia as a 15 year old through a Muscular Dystrophy NSW camp. He is classified as a BC3 athlete.[2][3] He came third in his first junior titles and this gave him the encouragement to increase his training.[2] This led to him winning the junior title at his second attempt.[2] Michel was then selected in an Australian Paralympic Committee Paralympic Preparation Program for the Rio Games.[2] His first international competition was at the 2013 Asia and Oceania Championships where he finished fifth and attained a world ranking of 35.[2][3] At the 2014 World Championships in Beijing, China, he finished 36th.[2] He finished sixth at the 2016 Boccia Individual World Championships.[4] In 2016, he was a New South Wales Institute of Sport scholarship holder and is coached by Australian head coach Ken Halliday.[4] He was selected to represent Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, becoming the first Australian player selected to compete at the Paralympics since 2000.[4]

Michel on his Rio Paralympics selection stated "I’m hoping it’s going to have a huge impact on the sport and on the reputation and perception of people with severe disabilities. The overriding public perception surrounding severe disabilities is that people living with these disabilities aren’t really capable of succeeding in a sporting atmosphere. There’s an emphasis on being successful through academia, but sport is never really promoted as an avenue through which people with severe physical disabilities can achieve enjoyment and also success".[4]

At the Rio Games, Michel won his first pool match in the Mixed individual BC3 but lost his second and did not advance.[5]

Michel won the bronze medal in the Individual BC3 at the 2018 World Championships, Liverpool, England.[6] He teamed with Spencer Cotie and Cal Simpson to win the silver medal in Mixed Pairs BC3.

As of February 2020, Michel is a 4 × World Open champion and has a world ranking of 4.

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References
  1. "Daniel Michel". Australian Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  2. "Can Dan go from Camp to Rio ?" (PDF). Muscular Dystrophy NSW website. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  3. "B3 class". 2013 Asia and Oceania Championships website. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  4. "NSWIS boccia athlete to make history at Rio Paralympics". NSW Institute of Sport website. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  5. "Daniel Michel". Rio Paralympics Official site. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  6. "Results". BISFED 2018 World Championship website. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
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