Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics


Australia competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Games in London, United Kingdom from 29 August to 9 September 2012. The London Games were the biggest Games with 164 nations participating, 19 more than in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic. Australia has participated at every Summer Paralympic Games and hosted the 2000 Sydney Games. As such, the 2000 Sydney Games, regarded as one of the more successful Games, became a point-of-reference and an inspiration in the development of the 2012 London Games.
Australia finished 5th in the final medal count with 85 medals: 32 gold medals, 23 silver medals and 30 bronze medals.

Context

The 2012 London Paralympic Games were officially opened on Wednesday 29 August by Queen Elizabeth II at The Olympic Stadium in London. The Games had a record number of participating athletes at 4327, made up of 2736 men and 1501 women. London hosted 503 medal-winning events in 20 different sports. The Paralympians competed under six different impairment groups: amputees, blind and visually impaired, cerebral palsied, intellectually disabled, Les Autres and spinal cord injuries. These athletes set 251 new world records and 314 Paralympic Games records.
During the Games, 2.7 million tickets were sold with most events and sessions selling out. Media coverage of the Paralympic Games was high. The Games were shown in more countries than previous Games, attracting the biggest international audience yet.

The Australian team

The Australian Paralympic Team launch was held at Parliament House, Canberra on 25 June 2012. Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott farewelled the team. Julia Gillard told the athletes that they were "the fastest, the strongest, the best". Tony Abbott said "you are best of the best. In fact you are better than that because each one of you has mastered a significant disability to be in this team". Gillard stated that the Australian Government has invested A$13 million in team funding during the last year. The Australian Paralympic Committee organised a Staging Camp in Cardiff, Wales from 1 to 28 August 2012 to allow the Australian team to prepare for the Games.
The 2012 Australian Paralympic team had 161 athletes, 90 men and 71 women, competing in 13 sports. About half the team attended their first Games. Shooter Libby Kosmala, at the age of 70, was Australia's oldest competitor. Swimmer, Maddison Elliott, at the age of thirteen, was the youngest.
Jason Hellwig, the Australian Paralympic Committee's chief executive, was the Chef de Mission. While Michael Hartung and Kate McLoughlin were the Deputy Chefs de Mission.
On 21 August 2012, Greg Smith, a wheelchair rugby player and former track and field athlete, was announced as the Australian flag bearer for the London 2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony. The announcement was made at a special ceremony for the Australian Paralympic Team in front of Cardiff Castle in Wales.
The Australian Paralympic Committee worked to classify each Australian Paralympian's individual disability well before the London Games. This was to ensure that each Paralympian qualified for their event and to "minimise any effect on Games preparation”. As such, the number of classifiers in the Australian Paralympic Committee, with the capacity to classify an athlete's impairment group, increased to 176 from 166 during 2011–2012.

2012 Paralympians of the Year Awards

[Jacqueline Freney]

A cerebral palsy swimmer and the highest achieving individual athlete of the Games, winning eight gold medals. This is the most gold medals won by an Australian athlete at a single Paralympic Games.
- Awards: Australian Paralympian of the Year 2012 and Australian Female Athlete of the Year.
- The most successful individual medallist of any nation in London.
- Ranked equal first on total medals won at a single Paralympic Games with fellow Australian swimmer Matthew Cowdrey and USA swimmer Jessica Long, with eight medals in total.
- Events where Freney won a gold medal:
An arm amputee swimmer, winning eight medals – five gold, two silver and one bronze medal. During the Games, he became Australia's greatest Paralympian in terms of gold and total medals. He finished the Games with 13 gold medals.
- Awards: Paralympic Achievement Award
-Events where Cowdrey won a gold medal:
- Events where Cowdrey won a silver medal:
- Events where Cowdrey won a silver medal:
A cerebral palsy athletics sprinter, winning two gold medals.
- Awards: Australian Male Athlete of the Year
- Events where O’Hanlon won a gold medal:
A leg amputee swimmer, winning 4 gold medals and 2 bronze medals.
- Events where Cole won a gold medal:
- Events where Cole won a bronze medal:
A cerebral palsy swimmer, at the age of thirteen, became Australia's youngest gold medalist and medalist.Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics#cite note-2|
- Awards: Australian Junior Athlete of the Year
- Event where Elliott won a gold medal:
- Event where Elliott won a silver medal:
- Events where Elliott won a bronze medal:
The wheelchair rugby team won its first Paralympic Games gold medal and the Sailing team SKUD 18 won the first sailing gold medal since the Sydney Games in 2000
- Awards: Team of the Year – Australian wheelchair rugby team, The Steelers, and SKUD 18 sailing team, Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch
- Events where they won a gold medal:
The International Paralympic Committee said that "the London Paralympic 2012 Games were watched by a cumulative international audience of 3.4 billion, which is an increase of around 37 percent on the last summer Games in Beijing".
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation was the official Australian broadcaster.
The ABC provided over 100 hours of free to air coverage on ABC1. This coverage had a broadcast team of veteran Olympic and Paralympic athletes. ABC2 broadcast live panel programs at night. These programs aimed “to look at the lighter side of the games”. The ABC also had regular updates on News 24 and on their website, ABC online. Through this website and ABC's iView, Australians were able to access Paralympic coverage at any time.
The average number of audience viewers per day was 1.6 million people. The Australian Paralympic Team's Facebook page grew by 16,000 fans and its YouTube channel reached close to 474,000 views.
The Australian Government declared that the coverage was “the most comprehensive ever implemented by the Australian Paralympic Committee Communications division”.
Statistics show that the number of media stories about the Paralympic Games has increased each time since the 2004 Athens Summer Paralympic Games.
The number of media stories increased over time because of interest. The table below shows the increased interest by the Australian public as it shows the increasing number of viewers in millions.

Effects of the London 2012 Paralympic Games on Australian society

The media coverage on the Paralympic Games had an effect on Australian society. The increased coverage and increased audiences showed Australia's increased interest in Paralympic sport.
Light-hearted panel shows aided this interest. For instance, Australian comedian, Adam Hills, created a show called The Last Leg. Hills hosts the show with Alex Brooker, both of whom are disabled, and with comedian Josh Widdicombe. Broadcast on the ABC in Australia and on Channel 4 in the UK, the show recapped each day's competition at the London 2012 Paralympics, engaging in feedback from the public, which “facilitated dialogue… issues of disability in an open and respectful but also playful way”.
These panel shows and high-profile Paralympic athletes are using their position for political activism. Consequently, it is argued that the media and individual Paralympic athletes have “helped change societal perspectives… para-athletes are now increasingly being judged alongside other sporting peers with or without a disability”.
As such, Paralympians are now beginning to have commercial success. For instance, Paralympians Kelly Cartwright, Ahmed Kelly, Dylan Alcott, Kurt Fearnley and Evan O’Hanlon featured in Qantas’ London 2012 Ambassador Program and the airline's in-flight safety message, which ran from June 2012.
Paralympians Kurt Fearnley, Matt Cowdrey, Kelly Cartwright and Toby Kane made eleven public appearances for Telstra.
While Paralympians Dylan Alcott, Grace Bowman, Matthew Cowdrey and Jessica Gallagher appeared in the Swisse Vitamins television commercials.
On a broader level, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee suggest that the Olympics and Paralympics provide inspiration for ordinary people to get motivated to participate in sport, known as the “trickle-down effect”.
However, research by the Australian Centre for Olympic Studies refutes their statement. They argue that data from the Exercise Recreation and Sport survey shows that “no increase of participation in Olympic sports was found”, which suggests that Olympic sport does not inspire the “trickle-down effect”. However, they also note that a similar study “cannot be carried out for Paralympic sports” because Commonwealth and State departments of sport “never included a disability module”.
A report by Disability Rights Now suggests that “support for grassroots participation and pathways to elite level competition is lacking”. They argue against relying on the Australian Paralympic Committee's Talent Search program and the APC's emphasis on elite development over grassroots participation.
However, the Australian Government argues that the Talent Search program is successful. For the 2012 London Paralympics, 43 Paralympic athletes on the Australian team were found using this program. Of these athletes, twenty-five won a medal at the 2012 Games – ten gold, seven silver and eleven bronze – which is 32.9 per cent of Australia's total medal tally.
Also, the program has achieved better results than the previous Talent Search period, as demonstrated in the table below:
Talent Search Program Table
Talent Search PeriodPeriodIdentified Tier 1 and 2 AthletesParalympic Preparation Programs Shadow Squad MembersAustralian Paralympic TeamParalympic Podium Athletes
2005-2008940423532715
2009-20121031623924323

Medalists

MedalNameSportEventDate
AthleticsWomen's Long Jump – F42/4442 September
AthleticsMen's 100m – T3831 September
AthleticsMen's 200m – T3868 September
AthleticsMen's 800 m – T5375 September
AthleticsMen's Shot Put – F2097 September
CyclingWomen's Individual Pursuit C4130 August
, Scott McPhee CyclingMen's Individual Pursuit B130 August
, Stephanie Morton CyclingWomen's 1km time trial B231 August
CyclingMen's Individual C 3 Road Time Trial75 September
CyclingMixed T 1–2 Road Time Trial75 September
CyclingMen's Individual C5 Pursuit31 September
EquestrianGrade 1B Individual Championship31 September
, Liesl TeschSailingTwo Person Keelboat – SKUD 1886 September
SwimmingMen's 100 m Backstroke S9231 August
SwimmingMen's 50 m Freestyle S975 September
SwimmingMen's 200 m Individual Medley SM986 September
SwimmingMen's 100 m Freestyle S997 September
SwimmingWomen's 100 m Freestyle S997 September
SwimmingWomen's 100 m Backstroke S9231 August
SwimmingWomen's 100 m Backstroke S7130 August
SwimmingWomen's 50 m Butterfly S7231 August
SwimmingWomen's 200m Individual Medley – SM742 September
SwimmingWomen's 100 m Freestyle – S753 September
SwimmingWomen's 50 m Freestyle – S764 September
SwimmingWomen's 400 m Freestyle – S776 September
SwimmingMen's 400 m Freestyle – S964 September
SwimmingMen's 100m Breaststroke – SB731 September
SwimmingWomen's 100m Breaststroke – SB1399 September
, Matthew Levy, Blake Cochrane, Matthew Cowdrey
Brenden Hall, Michael Auprince, Michael Anderson, Matthew Haanappel 		SwimmingMen's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 34 points42 September
, Maddison Elliott, Katherine Downie, Jacqueline Freney SwimmingWomen's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay 34 points53 September
, Katherine Downie, Annabelle Williams, Jacqueline FreneySwimmingWomen's 4 x 100m Medley Relay 34 points97 September

Wheelchair RugbyMixed tournament99 September
AthleticsWomen's Long Jump – F4642 September
AthleticsMen's 5000 m – T5442 September
AthleticsMen's 1500m – T3753 September
AthleticsWomen's 100 m – T4275 September
AthleticsWomen's Shot Put – F32/3386 September
AthleticsWomen's 200 m – T5386 September
AthleticsWomen's 400 m – T5398 September
AthleticsMen's 100 m – T4297 September
AthleticsMen's 100 m – T3498 September
CyclingWomen's Individual Pursuit C1-3130 August
, Sean Finning CyclingMen's Individual Pursuit B130 August
CyclingWomen's Individual C 4 Road Time Trial75 September
CyclingMen's Individual H 3 Road Time Trial75 September
RowingMen's Single Sculls – ASM1x42 September
SwimmingWomen's 100 m Backstroke S14231 August
SwimmingWomen's 200m Freestyle – S1442 September
SwimmingMen's 100 m Butterfly S9130 August
SwimmingMen's 100 m Breastroke SB831 September
SwimmingMen's 200m Freestyle – S1442 September
SwimmingWomen's 50 m Freestyle S842 September
SwimmingMen's 100 m Freestyle – S753 September

Wheelchair BasketballWomen's tournament97 September

Wheelchair BasketballMen's tournament98 September
AthleticsWomen's 100 m T34231 August
AthleticsWomen's Discus F35-36231 August
AthleticsWomen's Javelin Throw – F4631 September
AthleticsWomen's Javelin Throw – F37/3898 September
AthleticsMen's 800m – T3731 September
AthleticsWomen's 100 m – T5342 September
AthleticsWomen's 5000m – T5442 September
AthleticsMen's 400 m – T5342 September
AthleticsMen's 200 m – T4642 September
AthleticsMen's Shot Put – F11/1253 September
AthleticsMen's 200 m – T3464 September
AthleticsMen's Marathon- T5499 September
, Nathan Arkley, Richard Nicholson, Matthew CameronAthleticsMen's 4 x 400 m Relay – T53/5498 September
CyclingWomen's Individual Pursuit C4130 August
CyclingWomen's Individual C1-2-3 500m Time Trial31 September
CyclingMen's Individual C 5 Road Time Trial75 September
CyclingMen's Individual C1-3 Road Race86 September
ShootingWomen's R2-10m air rifle standing SH1130 August
SwimmingMen's 100m Butterfly S13231 August
SwimmingWomen's 100m Freestyle S886 September
SwimmingWomen's 400m Freestyle S8231 August
SwimmingMen's 100m Breaststroke – SB731 September
SwimmingMen's 200m Individual Medley -SM742 September
SwimmingMen's 50 m Freestyle S10231 August
SwimmingMen's 100 m Freestyle S1086 September
SwimmingMen's 200m Individual Medley SM10130 August
SwimmingWomen's 400 m Freestyle S964 September
SwimmingWomen's 50 m Freestyle S975 September
SwimmingWomen's 50m Freestyle – S1331 September
, Matthew Cowdrey, Brenden Hall, Matthew Levy
Michael Auprince, Rick Pendleton, Andrew Pasterfield, Matthew Haanappel 		SwimmingMen's 4 x 100m Medley Relay 34 points98 September

Events

Athletics

Athletics team
Selected team of 43 athletes.

MenWomen
Nathan Arkley, Damien Bowen, Gabriel Cole, Matthew Cameron, Richard Colman, Kurt Fearnley, Sam Harding, Todd Hodgetts, Jake Lappin, Hamish MacDonald, Richard Nicholson, Evan O'Hanlon, Rheed McCracken, Sam McIntosh, Simon Patmore, Scott Reardon, Michael Roeger, Brad Scott, Russell Short, Matthew Silcocks, Tim Sullivan, Lindsay Sutton, Jack SwiftAngela Ballard, Carlee Beattie, Georgia Beikoff, Kelly Cartwright, Christie Dawes, Madison de Rozario, Rachael Dodds, Jodi Elkington, Louise Ellery, Michelle Errichiello, Jessica Gallagher, Madeleine Hogan, Torita Isaac, Rosemary Little, Brydee Moore, Katy Parrish, Kristy Pond, Kath Proudfoot, Stephanie Schweitzer, Erinn Walters

Support staff – Administration -Andrew Faichney, Don Elgin, Lynda Gusbeth, Stephanie Martin, Janet Rerden; Coaches – Steve Butler, Andrew Dawes, Iryna Dvoskina, John Eden, Aaron Holt, Brett Jones, Tim Matthews, Fred Periac, Brett Robinson, Louise Sauvage; Physiotherapists – Victoria Moore, Bernadette Petzel, Soft Tissue Therapist – Mick Jordan, Phil Power; Mechanic – Andrew Carter
Australia finished 10th on the athletics medal table winning 27 medals – 5 gold, 9 silver and 13 bronze. Gold medalists were – Evan O'Hanlon, Richard Colman, Kelly Cartwright and Todd Hodgetts. Russell Short attended his 7th Games, Hamish MacDonald his 6th Games and Christine Dawes and Richard Nicholson their 5th Games.
;Results key

Track events – men

Track events – women

Field events – women

AthleteEventsResultRank
Carlee BeattieLong jump F465.57 m
Georgia Beikoff Javelin throw F37/38914pts
Kelly CartwrightLong jump F42/441030pts
Louise ElleryClub throw F31/32/51818pts 8
Louise ElleryShot put – F32-345.90 m PR
Jessica Gallagher Javelin throw F12/13882pts 6
Jessica Gallagher Long jump F135.03 m5
Madeleine HoganJavelin throw F4638.85 m PB
Brydee Moore Javelin throw F33/34/52/53585pts 10
Brydee Moore Shot put F32-346.05 m6
Katy ParrishLong jump F37/383.81 m +0.811
Kath Proudfoot Discus throw F35/36956pts
Kath Proudfoot Shot put F35/36984pts 4
Stephanie SchweitzerLong jump F204.79 m4

Field events – men

Cycling

Selected team of 15 athletes. Kieran Modra was attending his 7th Games.
Support staff – Administration – Murray Lydeamore ; Coaches – Peter Day, Jenni Banks, Paul Martens, Tom Skulander ; Mechanic – Peter Giessauf, Mike Winter ; Physiotherapist – Anouska Edwards, Soft tissue therapist – Alan Downes

Equestrian

Selected team of 4 athletes.
Support staff – Administration – Sally Francis ; Coach – Julia Battams ; Physioptherapist – Victoria Kahn ; Grooms – Elsa Davis, Nicole King, Fay Mendez, Kate O'Brien ; Veterinarian – Janine Dwyer
m

Three athletes attended Games for the first time. Australia won its first gold medal since the 2000 Sydney Games with Joann Formosa's medal.

Goalball

Women's tournament

Selected Australian women's team of 6 athletes
Australian women's team
Jennifer Blow, Meica Christensen, Tyan Taylor, Nicole Esdaile, Rachel Henderson, Michelle Rzepecki; Head Coach – Georgina Kenaghan.

Support staff – Administration – Peter Corr ; Coach – Georgina Kenaghan ; Physiothyerapist – Eliza Kwan
The team went into the Games ranked eight in the world and is the first Australian goalball team to qualify for the Paralympic sport since Atlanta in 1996. It competed in Group B against China, United States, Sweden, Japan and Canada. The Australian men's team did not qualify after losing the Africa Oceania Goalball Regional Championships 5–4 against Algeria.
;Group play

Powerlifting

Selected team of 2 athletes.

Men – Darren Gardiner and Abebe Fekadu.

Support staff – Administration – Scott Upston ; Coach – Ray Epstein
Gardiner, a previous Games medallist, competed at his fourth Games and Fekadu and a refugee from Ethiopia competed at his second Games. Australia did not win any medals.
AthleteEventTotal liftedRank
Abebe FekaduMen's 56 kg158 kg8
Darren GardinerMen's +100 kg231 kg4

Rowing

Single scull – Erik Horrie

Pair – Gavin Bellis, Kathryn Ross

Support staff – Administration – Dean Oakman ; Coach – Chad King ; Boat Technician – Urs Graf ; Physiotherapist – Erin Smyth

Australia won a silver medal through Erik Horrie.
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A ; FB=Final B ; R=Repechage

Sailing

Selected team of 6 athletes

Australian team
Matthew Bugg, Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch, Colin Harrison, Stephen Churm, Jonathan Harris

Support staff – Administration – Sarah Karsten, Peter Conde ; Coaches – Grant Alderson, Tim Lowe, Richard Scarr ; Physiotherapist – Sarah Ross, Technical Support – Adrian Finglas, Boat Technician – Jeffery Milligan ; Personal Care Attendant – Kumi Sasaki
Lisel Tesch attendedg her sixth Games but the first as sailor. She previously captained Australian women's wheelchair basketball team to medals at previous Games. Tesch won her first Paralympic gold medal in combination with Daniel Fitzgibbon to win Two Person Keelboat.

Shooting

Selected team of 6 athletes.
MenWomen
Ashley Adams, Luke Cain, Jason Maroney, Bradley Mark; Head Coach – Miro Sipek.Libby Kosmala, Natalie Smith

Support staff – Admionistration – Nick Sullivan ; Coach – Miro Sipek ; Technical Support – Stuart Smith ; Personal Care Attendant – Anne Bugden, Yvonne Cain, Margaret Zubcic
Libby Kosmala competed at her 11th Paralympic Games at the age of 70. Ashley Adams competed at his 4th Games. Australia won one bronze medal through Natalie Smith.

Swimming

Selected team of 35 athletes.
MenWomen
Michael Anderson, Tim Antalfy, Michael Auprince, Blake Cochrane, Matthew Cowdrey, Jay Dohnt, Richard Eliason, Daniel Fox, Matthew Haanappel, Brenden Hall, Ahmed Kelly, Mitchell Kilduff, Matthew Levy, Jeremy McClure, Andrew Pasterfield, Grant Patterson, Rick Pendleton, Aaron Rhind, Sean Russo, Reagan Wickens
Kayla Clarke, Ellie Cole, Taylor Corry, Katherine Downie, Maddison Elliott, Amanda Fowler, Jacqueline Freney, Tanya Huebner, Kara Leo, Esther Overton, Katrina Porter, Sarah Rose, Teigan Van Roosmalen, Prue Watt, Annabelle Williams

Men's events

Legend: Q= Qualified for final; OC= Oceania Record; PR= Paralympic Record; WR= World Record

Women's events

Qualification Legend: Q= Qualified for final; OC= Oceania Record; PR= Paralympic Record; WR= World Record
Support staff – Administration – Karyn Burgess ; Coaches – Brendan Keogh, Angelo Basalo, Tom Davis, Michael Freney, Rob Hindmarsh, Jon O'Neil-Shaw, Chris Phillips, Bash Zidan ; Personal Care Attendant – Tara Andrews ; Physiotherapist – David Spurrier, Jo Evershed ; Sport Scientists – Brendan Burkett, Sacha Fulton ; Soft tissue therapist – Penny Will ; Psychologist – Jason Patchell
Australia finished second on the gold medal table and won a total of 37 medals 18 gold, 7 silver and 12 bronze. Leading swimmers were – Jacqueline Freney won 8 gold medals, Matthew Cowdrey won 5 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal and Ellie Cole won 4 gold medals and 2 bronze medals.

Table tennis

Selected team of 2 athletes.

Women- Melissa Tapper and Rebecca McDonnell.
Support staff – Administration – Roger Massie ; Coach – Alois Rosario
Australia did not win any medals.
;Women

Wheelchair basketball

Men's tournament

The Australian men's wheelchair basketball team were in Group A with the United States, Spain, South Africa, Italy and Turkey. Australia won the silver medal, losing to Canada in the final.
;Group stage
;Quarter-final
;Semi-final
;Gold medal match
Support staff – men – administration – Leigh Gooding ; coaches – Ben Ettridge, Matteo Feriani, Thomas Kyle, physiotherapist – Jesse Adams.

Women's tournament

The Australian women's wheelchair basketball team were in Group A with the Netherlands, Great Britain, Brazil and Canada. Australia won the silver medal, losing to Germany in the final.
;Group stage
;Quarter-final
;Semi-final
;Gold medal match
Support staff – women – administration – Marian Stewart ; coaches – John Triscari, David Gould, Ben Osborne; physiotherapist – Miranda Wallis.

Wheelchair rugby

Selected team of 11 athletes
Australian team
Nazim Erdem, Ryan Scott, Jason Lees, Cameron Carr, Andrew Harrison, Greg Smith, Cody Meakin, Josh Hose, Ben Newton, Ryley Batt, Chris Bond; Head

Six athletes made their Games debut. Greg Smith was the flag bearer for the opening ceremonies. The Australian team 'the Steelers' went into the Games as the silver medallist from the 2008 Beijing Games and 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships. Australia defeated Canada to win its first wheelchair rugby gold medal.
;Group stage
;Semi-finals
;Gold medal match
Support staff – Administration – Paul Kiteley ; Coach – Brad Dubberley ; Technical Support – Chevvy Cooper ; Personal Care Assistant – Angela Mansell ; Physiotherapist – Simon Mole

Wheelchair tennis

Selected team of 4 athletes.
MenWomen
Ben Weekes, Adam KellermanDaniela Di Toro, Janel Manns

Support staff – Administration – Brenda Tierney ; Coaches – Greg Crump, Craig Purcell
Daniela Di Toro competed at her fifth Games. Australia did not win any medals.

Administration and support

Team Executive – Jason Hellwig, Michael Hartung, Kate McLoughlin, Adam McCarthy, Kurt Plummer, Jim FitzSimons
Operations - Caroline Walker, Anna Muldoon, Chris Nunn, Steven Graham, Greg Omay, Natalie Hutchinson, Cathy Lambert,, Chris Voysey, Tim Murphy, Genevieve McMahon, Steve Loader
Media Team – Tim Mannion,Shaun Giles, Margie McDonald, Gennie Sheer, Lachlan Searle, Chris Abbott, David Sygall, Jacqualine Chartres, Rebekka Wake, Sarah Rogers, Darcy Bonser, Olivia McGrath, Neil Cross, Jeff Crow, Judy Goldman
Medical Staff - Alison Campbell, Linda Clow, Corey Cunningham, Geoff Thompson, Ruth Fazakerley, Richard Bennett, Sarah Jack, Liz Broad, Siobhan Moran, Jo Vaile, Matthew Driller, Keren Faulkner, Penny Dayan, Gilian Niven, Scott Smith, Ebonie Scase, Zoe Horder

Welcome home celebrations

The team returned to Sydney Airport to be greeted by a number of Australian Government ministers, family, friends and the media. The team was treated to a performance by the band Icehouse. Congratulatory messages were from Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan, Minister for Sport Kate Lundy and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.