Tim Sullivan (athlete)
Timothy ("Tim") Francis Sullivan, OAM (born 16 September 1975) is an Australian Paralympic athlete. Personal. Sullivan as born in Melbourne, Australia. When Tim was eight years old, he rode his bike to the local wreckers. It was among rusty car shells and beaten-up vehicles that a terrible accident occurred: he fell onto an aerial which slotted up one of his nostrils and struck his brain. From this accident Sullivan suffered cerebral palsy. It limits his verbal communication: he speaks in tiny, fast sentences and sometimes gives one-word answers. It has also limited his use of  the right side of his body but he has defied this disability and found real speed. Career. Tim Sullivan, is an Australian athlete who has won ten gold medals at the Paralympic Games. This includes five gold medals at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney (T38 200m; T38 100m; T38 400m; T38 4X400m relay; T38 4X100m relay), in which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia for his 'service to sport'. Tim also won four gold medals at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, in the T38 100m, 200m and 400 m events, and as a member of the men's 4 × 100 m Relay team. In addition to the gold medals won, Sullivan also set world records in the 100m, 200m and 4 × 100 m relay at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games. At the conclusion of the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Tim was ranked 1st overall among athletes in his competitions. Tim represented Australia again at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, where he won a gold medal in the men's 4 × 100 m T35-38 and also at the 2012 Summer Paralympics  in London. He held the Australian record for the highest gold medal count until being surpassed by Matthew Cowdrey in 2012. Tim did not medal at the 2012 Games. Recognition. In 2000, Sullivan was named Male Athlete of the Year by the Australian Paralympic Committee. In the same year, Sullivan also received the Victorian Institute of Sport's Award of Excellence. In October 2004, he was named "Paralympian of the Year" by the Australian Paralympic Committee. In 2004, Sullivan was also awarded the Victorian Institute of Sport's "Athlete With a Disability" award.