Daniel Fitzgibbon

Daniel Fitzgibbon, OAM (born 15 June 1976) is an Australian Paralympic sailor, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. He won gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics with partner Liesl Tesch in the Two person SKUD 18.[1][2]

Daniel Fitzgibbon
Australian Paralympic Team Portrait 2016
Personal information
Nationality Australia
Born (1976-06-15) 15 June 1976
Manly, Queensland
Medal record
Sailing
Paralympic Games
2012 London Mixed Two Person SKUD18
2016 Rio Mixed Two Person SKUD18
2008 Beijing Mixed Two Person SKUD18
IFDS World Championships
2004 Melbourne Single-Person Dinghy
2014 HalifaxMixed Two Person SKUD18
2015 MelbourneMixed Two Person SKUD18
2011 WeymouthMixed Two Person SKUD18
2016 Medemblik Mixed Two Person SKUD18

Biography
Fitzgibbon sailing at theISAF Sailing World Cup

Daniel Gerard Fitzgibbon was born in the Brisbane suburb of Manly on 15 June 1976. Having sailed since the age of five, he joined the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in 1990.[3][4] On 29 March 1997, an incident occurred at the Middle Harbour Yacht Club jetty in which he broke his neck, leaving him a quadraplegic.[5] He sued the Waterways Authority for negligence at the New South Wales Supreme Court. Fitzgibbon, who claimed that he was pushed into the water, stated that it was their failure to include a handrail in the design of the jetty that caused him to fall off. They stated that he dived in because he thought a friend was drowning, and thus was responsible for the accident.[6] His claim was unsuccessful.

In 2004 Fitzgibbon competed in the Disabled Sailing World Championship, which he won in his class,[5] and was jointly awarded the Disabled Sailor of the Year along with Andrew Hartley.[7]

In 2007, Fitzgibbon partnered with Rachael Cox in the SKUD International Championships, where they won a gold medal.[8] They later competed in the IFDS World Championships and placed fifth.[8] They were jointly named as Sailors of the Year with a Disability.[8] The two teamed up again in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics in the SKUD 18 class and won the silver medal.[9] The class, which premiered at the 2008 games, was created when Fitzgibbon convinced the International Foundation for Disabled Sailing to adapt the class to allow two sailors with disabilities to participate.[5] They were again jointly named the Sailors of the Year with a Disability.[8]

Fitzgibbon and Tesch sailing at the 2012 London Paralympics

After seeing Liesl Tesch in an SBS documentary about the boat Sailors with Disabilities competing in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Fitzgibbon contacted her in late 2010 and they formed a sailing partnership.[10] He partnered with Tesch at the ISAF World Cup in January 2011 where they won gold,[11] and at the IFDS World Championships in July, where they won bronze.[12] The pair were jointly named as Sailors of the Year with a Disability, the fourth time Fitzgibbon won the award.[8]

At the 2012 London Paralympics, the pair won a gold medal in the Mixed Two Person SKUD18.[9] At the 2014 IFDS World Championships in Halifax, Canada, Fitzgibbon teamed with Tesch to win the two-person SKUD 18 class.[13]

Fitzgibbon and Tesch receiving the Team of the Year award at the 2012 Australian Paralympian of the Year ceremony

Fitzgibbon and Tesch won the 2015 IFDS World Championships in Melbourne.[14] After winning the title Fitzgibbon said:"We're still learning every day. That's what sailing is. You never stop learning and enjoying the sport and we ended up winning a gold medal and since London we are undefeated, we won the world championships last time and we are trying to win this one and we've won every world cup event we've been in. The competition gets harder and harder, though that's the thing – we've just got to keep improving."[14]

Fitzgibbon and Tesch won the bronze medal in the SKUD 18 class at the 2016 World Championships held in Medemblik, Netherlands.[15]

Fitzgibbon and Tesch won back to back Paralympic gold medals by winning the SKUD18 at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. They won eight out of 11 races and had three second placings.[2]

Recognition

Fitzgibbon was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games."[3] In November 2014, Fitzgibbon shared the Yachting Australia Sailor of the Year with a Disability award with Liesl Tesch, Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris, Russell Boaden and Matthew Bugg. The Australian team of six sailors beat Great Britain by one point at the IFDS World Championship.[16] Fitzgibbon and Tesch won the 2014 NSW Sports Award for Team of the Year with a Disability.[17] In November 2015, Fitzgibbon and Tesch were awarded Yachting Australia's 2015 Sailor of the Year with a Disability.[18] In November 2017, Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch were inaugural inductees to the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.[19]

References
  1. "Australia's Paralympic Sailors set sail for their last Games". Australian Paralympic Committee News. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  2. "2-Person Keelboat (SKUD18) - Standings". Rio Paralympics Official site. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  3. "Australia Day honours list 2014: in full". The Daily Telegraph. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  4. "Daniel Fitzgibbon — Bio". Yachting Queensland. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  5. Murdoch, Alex (11 January 2008). "Sailor Dan Fitzgibbon on right tack to Paralympics". Courier Mail. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  6. "High Court of Australia: The Waterways Authority v Daniel Gerard Fitzgibbon" (PDF). High Court of Australia. 5 October 2005. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  7. "2004 Disabled Sailor of the Year Announced at Access Dinghy Championship". Yachting Australia. 7 October 2004. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  8. "Sailor of the Year with a Disability". Australian Sailing Team. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  9. Results for Daniel Fitzgibbon from the International Paralympic Committee (archived). Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  10. Lewis, Daniel (26 August 2012). "At home with Liesl Tesch". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  11. Heydon, Craig (29 January 2011). "Gold for Australian Paralympic crew at Miami OCR". Yachting Australia. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  12. "Britain's Rickham and Birrell to Challenge in Melbourne". International Paralympic Committee. 4 November 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  13. "Results". IFDS Worlds 2014 website. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  14. Tate, Andrew (2 December 2015). "Para World Sailing Championships: Australian pair undefeated and on track for Rio". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  15. "2016 Para World Sailing Championship". World Sailing website. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  16. "Stellar night for Australian sailing at Yachting Australia Awards 2014". Yachting Australia News. 1 November 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  17. Zillich, Cora (20 February 2015). "Fitzgibbon and Tesch claim top NSW Sports Award for Team of the Year". Sail World. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  18. "Belcher and Ryan lead all-star night at Yachting Australia Awards". Yachting Australia website. 9 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  19. "Daniel Fitzgibbon OAM and Liesl Tesch AM". Australian Sailing Hall of Fame website. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
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