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Bill Lean

1941 – 2015

New Zealand Paralympic athlete

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About Bill Lean

Lived 1941 – 2015 (aged 73–74). Bill Lean was a New Zealand athlete.

William Lean (1941–2015) was a New Zealand Paralympic athlete from Dunedin. In the 1968 Summer Paralympics, he competed in archery, athletics, dartchery and table tennis. In the 1976 Summer Paralympics, he competed in athletics, table tennis and weightlifting, winning a gold medal in Athletics in the Men's Shot Put 4.

Lean qualified for the 1976 Games earlier in the year at the Commonwealth Paraplegic Games. He was one of six members of the team to qualify for Toronto at the event.

Lean would go on to be selected to represent New Zealand for the 1980 Summer Paralympics, but had to miss those Games because of a heart problem. Having made his debut at the 1968 Games, Lean was his country's seventh ever Paralympian. When he died in 2015, NZ Paralympics said of him,

Lean had taken up sport following an accident where he fell from a tree as a 19-year-old. Sports played a key role in his rehabilitation. He made his international debut in 1966. He went to Toronto after having won gold at the 1974 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Dunedin, where he set a world record lift of 202.50 kg in the heavyweight class. He also competed at the 1966 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Jamaica.

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Important facts

Born
1941
Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Also known as
William Lean

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Bill Lean's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Bill Lean?

New Zealand Paralympic athlete

When was Bill Lean born?

Bill Lean was born in 1941.

When did Bill Lean die?

Bill Lean died on 2 April 2015.

What was Bill Lean's occupation?

Bill Lean was an athlete.

What nationality was Bill Lean?

Bill Lean was New Zealand.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Bill Lean

· Wikidata: Q30124204

· DBpedia: Bill Lean

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Bill Lean. https://biography.guide/bill-lean/

MLA: "Bill Lean." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/bill-lean/.

Chicago: "Bill Lean." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/bill-lean/.

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