Daniel Fitzgibbon

Daniel Fitzgibbon, (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. On 29 March 1997, an incident occurred at the Middle Harbour Yacht Club jetty in which he broke his neck, leaving him a quadraplegic. 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. His claim was unsuccessful.

In 2004 Fitzgibbon competed in the Disabled Sailing World Championship, which he won in his class,

In 2007, Fitzgibbon partnered with Rachael Cox in the SKUD International Championships, where they won a gold medal. They later competed in the IFDS World Championships and placed fifth. 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. He partnered with Tesch at the ISAF World Cup in January 2011 where they won gold, and at the IFDS World Championships in July, where they won bronze. The pair were jointly named as Sailors of the Year with a Disability, the fourth time Fitzgibbon won the award.

Fitzgibbon and Tesch won the 2015 IFDS World Championships in Melbourne. 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."

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 came second in the other three.

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." 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. Fitzgibbon and Tesch won the 2014 NSW Sports Award for Team of the Year with a Disability. In November 2015, Fitzgibbon and Tesch were awarded Yachting Australia's 2015 Sailor of the Year with a Disability. In November 2017, Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch were inaugural inductees to the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.