Gary Hooper

Gary Leslie Hooper MBE (11 February 1939 – 13 August 2025) was an Australian Paralympic competitor. He won seven medals at three Paralympics from 1960 to 1968.

Background Hooper was born on 11 February 1939 in Sydney. He never knew his biological father, and lived with his stepfather.

He contracted polio at the age of eleven, and lost the use of both his legs.

Hooper trained to become a bookbinder and worked for 25 years at the Newcastle Public Library. He volunteered as the welfare officer for the Foundation for the Disabled in Newcastle. He retired from the Newcastle Public Library in April 1983, 25 years to the day after he commenced, due to ill health following several motor vehicle accidents. Later, he also worked as a public speaker and accessibility consultant. after efforts by the Swansea-Belmont Surf Club and the Toronto Leagues Club fell short of the required amount and Hooper was about to withdraw from the team.

In 1964, he married Janice, who was a librarian at the Newcastle Public Library. They had two sons – Sean and Glen.

Hooper died on 13 August 2025 at Manning Base Hospital, Taree, New South Wales, near his home in Tuncurry, at the age of 86.

Career Throughout his career, Hooper won titles at all levels and across a range of sports. At the 1966 New South Wales Paraplegic Championships he won 11 titles in events in athletics, fencing and swimming and also competed in table tennis and snooker. At the 1968 Australian Paraplegic Games he won 14 medals, including 10 gold medals, in athletics, fencing, swimming and weightlifting.

At the 1960 Rome Paralympics, Hooper won a silver medal in the Men's Precision Javelin B event. At the 1964 Tokyo Paralympics, he won a gold medal in the Men's Wheelchair Dash above T10 event and two silver medals in the Men's Wheelchair Relay above T10 and Men's Lightweight weightlifting events; he also competed in swimming and wheelchair fencing at the Games. At the 1966 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games Hooper contested 16 events in total across 5 sports and won 12 medals: gold medals for javelin, club throw, relay, shot put, backstroke; silver in wheelchair sprint, discus sabre teams, basketball and weightlifting; bronze in foils and sabre individual events. At the 1970 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games Hooper won 6 medals in athletics and weightlifting: gold in the precision javelin and 4X100m relay, silver in the 100m, shot put and slalom and bronze in weightlifting.

Hooper retired from competitive sport in 1976 after suffering injuries in a car accident. However, after being on the Paralympic program since 1968, lawn bowls was not included in 1992.

Hooper was a judge in fencing at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 2000 – Carried the Olympic and Paralympic Torches during the respective torch relays for the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 2001 – inducted into the Hunter Region Sporting Hall of Fame.