Rodney Nugent

Rodney Francis Nugent, OAM (born 26 November 1967) is an Australian Paralympic athlete.

Personal Nugent was born on 26 November 1967 in the northern New South Wales city of Lismore. At the age of 15, he lost the lower portion of his right arm in an industrial accident with a mincing machine . Before the accident, Nugent enjoyed sport and played soccer and cricket. The accident did not stop his love of sport and he turned his focus to athletics and coaching.

He is married and has three sons.

Career At the 1988 Seoul Paralympics, Nugent entered seven events and won four gold (long jump, triple jump, 4 × 100 m Relay, and 4 × 400 m Relay) and three bronze medals (100 m, 200 m and high jump). He broke three world records. Rodney Nugent winner of 5 medals in Athletics at the 1988 Seoul Paralympic Games.

In 1992, he accepted a scholarship in the newly established Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Athletes with a Disabilities program and was coached by Chris Nunn. In joining the AIS program, Nugent commented "It’s very hard for athletes to finance their own training – I did it for years and it was tough. Getting this scholarship with the AIS has made all the difference. The facilities are good and the training program is excellent". He is the Australian special olympics head athletics coach and has also filled this role at the state level for New South Wales.

Awards Daily Examiner Sports Star of the Year Award - 1986, 1987 & 1988 Medal of the Order of Australia (1993) for his 1992 gold medal