Christie Dawes

Christie Dawes

Personal information
Birth name	Christie Skelton
Nationality	Australian
Born	3 May 1980 (1980-05-03) (age 31) Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Residence	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height	1.56 metres (5 ft 1 in) (2008)
Weight	45 kilograms (99 lb) (2008)
Sport
Country	Australia
Sport	Wheelchair racing
Event(s)	800m, 1500m and 5000m, Marathon
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals	2008 Summer Paralympics: 4×100 m T53–T54 – Bronze
Medal record Wheelchair racing Competitor for  Australia Paralympic Games Bronze 2008 Beijing 4×100 m T53–T54

Christie Dawes (born 3 May 1980) is an Australian Paralympic wheelchair racing athlete.

Personal

When she was young, Christie was very interested in athletics. At the age of 10, she was in a car accident. She survived, but had suffered paraplegia.^[1] Christie continued in her career in athletics, but also took up the job of a primary school teacher.^[2]

Athletics

In 1996, she competed in the Atlanta Paralympics, where she was awarded the 1996 Young Paralympian of the Year Award. Three years later, she won a bronze medal for the 10 km Peachtree Road Race. In 2000, she competed in the Sydney Paralympics. Next was the 2004 Paralympics in Athens Paralympics. The events that she competed in were 800m, 1500m, 5000m races and the Marathon.^[2] Dawes competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, and was one of several competitors caught up in a crash during the final of the women's 5000 metre T54 wheelchair event, eventually finishing sixth despite a broken front wheel.^[3] The race was re-run, and Dawes spoke out against the treatment of Canadian athlete Diane Roy, who had been awarded the gold medal in the event, only to have it taken back and replaced with a silver medal when she finished second in the re-run.^[4] In February 2010, Dawes won the 10 km world wheelchair road race championships in the United Arab Emirates.^[5]

References

1. ^ Christie Dawes, Telstra Paralympic Education Program.
2. ^ ^{a b} Athlete Profile: Christie Dawes, Athletics Australia.
3. ^ Crash delivers Dawes another chance, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 9 September 2008.
4. ^ Swanton, Will: Anger as win turns to fool's gold, The Age, 13 September 2008.
5. ^ Dawes claims wheelchair world title , The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 February 2010.

Persondata
Name	Dawes, Christie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	3 May 1980
Place of birth	Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Date of death
Place of death