fullname article_title
pauline jean english pauline english

pauline english

pauline jean english , oam , is an australian paraplegic swimmer , who has won five medals at two paralympics .
english has been paralysed from the waist down since the age of three due to transverse myelitis .
in december 1971 , shortly after she had finished school at the age of 14 , her father encouraged her to take up competitive swimming .
he enrolled her at don talbot 's swimming pool in the sydney suburb of hurstville .
at that pool , one of talbot 's assistants , trevor ellis , taught her how to balance herself and gain power by making her swim against a rubber hose that was tied to both her ankles and the edge of the pool .
four weeks after her first lesson , she broke two australian records at the new south wales paraplegic and quadriplegic games and four weeks after that , she won four gold medals and broke four australian records at the australian paraplegic championships .
from then on , she was coached by former olympic swimmer janice murphy .
at the 1972 heidelberg games , she won three bronze medals in the women 's 3x25 m medley 4 , women 's 50 m freestyle 4 , and women 's 3x50 m medley relay 2 -- 4 events .
she won two gold medals in freestyle and individual medley and two silver medals in the backstroke and the relay at the 1974 commonwealth paraplegic games in dunedin , new zealand .
at the 1974 international stoke mandeville games in london she won a bronze medal .
at the 1976 toronto games , she won a gold medal in the women 's 25 m butterfly 4 event and a bronze medal in the women 's 3x50 m individual medley 4 event .
her butterfly event was originally scheduled for the evening , so english decided to watch the earlier swimming events at the venue .
it was only after she had eaten lunch at the adjoining cafeteria at 1:00 pm that she discovered that her butterfly event had been rescheduled to 1:45 that afternoon .
she felt very ill after the race and said in an interview : `` i think i must be the only olympic gold medallist to win on a medal of hamburger , onion rings , honey buns , and chocolate shake '' .
in 1984 , she received a medal of the order of australia , `` in recognition of service to sport , particularly in relation to people with disabilities '' .
