Max Baldwin

Max Baldwin (born 1928) is an Australian canoeist who competed in the 1950s. He finished ninth in the K-1 10000 m event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.

Baldwin lost the use of his left leg due to polio at age one,[1] and walks with crutches.

Baldwin's first sport was gymnastics; despite his leg impairment, he won a NSW state championship title.[1][2]

After Baldwin started canoeing, he won several Australian titles.[3] He was the first Australian athlete with a disability to compete in the Olympic Games.[2]

Baldwin was made a life member of Gymnastics NSW in 1990[4] and awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2014, for services to sport.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Les Ryan. "Where There Is a Will There's a Way" (PDF). Network News. Polio NSW. p. 9.
  2. 1 2 3 "Queen's Birthday Honours include one legged Olympian". Daily Telegraph.
  3. ↑ "Polio Victim Favorite". The Sydney Morning Herald. April 4, 1953.
  4. ↑ Gymnastics NSW - Our Life Members


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.