Eliza Ault-Connell

Eliza Ault-Connell, AM (née Stankovic; born 19 September 1981) is an Australian wheelchair racer, who competed at Paralympic and Olympic Games. She survived meningococcal disease and plays a major role in improving the Australian community's awareness of the disease.

Eliza Ault-Connell
Personal information
Nationality Australia
Born (1981-09-19) 19 September 1981
Sydney, New South Wales
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Australia
World Para Athletics Championships
2002 Lille400m T54
2006 Assen800m T54
2019 Dubai800m T54
Commonwealth Games
2006 Melbourne800m T54
2018 Gold CoastMarathon T54
2002 Victoria800m Wheelchair
Olympic Games (demonstration sport)
2nd 2004 Athens Wheelchair racing

Early life

Eliza Jane Ault-Connell was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 19 September 1981. In 1997, at the age of 16, she nearly died from meningococcal disease.[1] She had both her legs amputated above the knees two days after contracting the disease. She said "Amputation wasn't a decision I had to make: I was in a coma at the time. Mum and Dad were told that's what had to be done to save my life, so in that sense there was no choice."[2] Later she had to make the decision to have most of the fingers on each hand removed. She was in hospital for six months and in 1998, she acquired prosthetic legs.[1]

She is the Director of Meningococcal Australia[3] and is involved in promoting the awareness of meningococcal disease in the Australian community.[4]

Athletics career

Before her illness, Ault-Connell excelled in netball and basketball. In 1998, she started running using her prosthetic legs and was classed T44 athlete.[1] However, she was forced to move to wheelchair racing as a T54 athlete due to a problem with the bone in the stump.[1]

Ault-Connell's first major international competition was 2002 Commonwealth Games where she won the bronze medal in the Women's Wheelchair 800m.[5] At the 2002 IPC Athletics World Championships, she competed in three events and won a silver medal in the Women's 400m T54 event.[5] At the 2004 Olympic Games, she finished second in the demonstration sport of Women's 1500 m wheelchair and the Women's 800 m wheelchair.[6] She also participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics.[7] At the 2004 Athens Paralympics, she competed in five events and did not medal.[5] Ault-Connell won three consecutive Oz Day 10K Wheelchair Road Race from 2004 to 2006.[8] She won a bronze medal in the Women's 800m T54 at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.[5] At the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships, she competed in three events and won a bronze medal in the Women's 800m T54.[5]

At the 2019 London Marathon which was also the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships marathon event, she finished fourth in the Women's T46.[9] At 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, she won the bronze medal in the Women's 800m T54.[10]

She was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours "for significant service to community health, and as a Paralympic athlete."[11]

Family

Ault-Connell is married to Australian Paralympic athlete Kieran Ault-Connell and they have two daughters and a son.[4]

Recognition
  • NSWIS Ian Thorpe Grand Slam International Outstanding Achievement Award [12]
  • 2002 Australian Junior Paralympian of the Year [12]
  • 2003 Newcastle Young Citizen of the Year [12]
  • 2007 Victorian State Finalist Young Australian of the Year 2007[8]
  • 2019 Member of the Order of Australia[11]
gollark: Then don't statefully bash it, take an unbashed language and return a new bashed version.
gollark: We need a purely functional representation of language bashing so haskellerers can join in.
gollark: Well, yes.
gollark: Which is right? Is ANY right?
gollark: It's weird how my username's color looks pretty different on my phone to my laptop

References
  1. Masters, Roy (29 August 2003). "Woman who turned tragedy into triumph". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  2. Heath, Sally (13 March 2006). "On a learning curve". The Age. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  3. "Here's what a meningococcal survivor wants you to know". Mamamia. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  4. O'Leary, Cathy (19 May 2014). "Survivor has story of hope". Western Australian. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  5. "Eliza Stankovic". Athletics Australia Historical Results. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  6. "Results - Athletics : 800m wheelchair". BBC. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  7. "Eliza Stankovic". Olympics Australia. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  8. "State Finalist Young Australian of the Year 2007". Australian of the Year Website. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  9. "Manuela Schaer makes it spectacular six in London". International Paralympic Committee website. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  10. "World Para Athletics Championships Dubai - Day 6 Recap". Athletics Australia. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  11. "Queen's Birthday 2019 Honours List" (PDF). Governor General of Australia. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  12. "Eliza Stankovic". Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Education Program website. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
External video
One Plus One: Eliza Ault-Connell, One Plus One, ABC News
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