Hannah Dodd

Hannah Dodd

2012 Australian Paralympic Team
portrait of Dodd
Personal information
Nationality  Australia
Born (1992-04-27) 27 April 1992
Sport
Country Australia
Sport Equestrian
Wheelchair basketball
Disability class Grade IV
2.0
Club Sydney University Flames
Medal record
Wheelchair basketball
U25 Women's World Championships
2015 Beijing, China Women's wheelchair basketball

Hannah Dodd (born 27 April 1992) is an Australian Grade IV equestrian and 2.0 point wheelchair basketball player who represented Australia in equestrian at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, coming 11th and 12th in her events. Switching to wheelchair basketball, she made her debut with the national team at the Osaka Cup in February 2015.

In 2008, Dodd was the Australian national Grade IV para-equestrian champion. She was runner-up in 2009, and won the Australian national championships again in 2011, along with the Oceania Championships and the National Titles team events. By 2012, she was the top-ranked Australian competitor in her event and class.

After the London Paralympics, Dodd took up wheelchair basketball. She started playing for the Sydney University Flames in the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League in 2013, made her debut with the national team at the Osaka Friendship Games in Osaka in February 2015, winning bronze, and was part of the Under 25 team at the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing in July 2015, winning silver.

Personal

Hannah Dodd was born on 27 April 1992,[1] and is from Arcadia, New South Wales.[2] She has sacral agenesis and spina bifida with upper limb dystonia,[3][4] and is missing four vertebrae in her back.[3] When she was about a year old, her kidneys started failing.[3] Her entire renal system needed to be reconstructed.[5] She has two older brothers.[2][4] She can walk with the aide of a caliper, and also uses a wheelchair. As of 2012, she is a horse riding teacher and student at the University of Western Sydney where she is majoring in sports and exercise science.[2][4]

Equestrian

Dodd is a Grade IV equestrian competitor,[2][4] coached by Peter Turner.[2] Due to her sacral agenesis, when she rides her horse, she dislocates several bones every time,[3][4] but as a result of anti-doping rules, she has had to find alternative ways of coping with pain associated with riding.[4]

Dodd has been around horses since she was four months old,[2] and was able to ride on her own by the time she was two years old, before she learned to walk.[2] The sport gave her a degree of independence.[4] She started competing in 2005, and first represented Australia in 2006,[2] winning her first test in England that year.[6]In 2008, she became the youngest-ever winner of the Australian national championships.[6] She finished first at the March 2009 inter-schools cup at the St Ives Showground,[7] and second at the 2009 Australian national championships,[2] but her horse, Lucifer's Dream, was injured in 2009.[7] In 2009 and 2010, she searched for another horse to assist her in getting through Paralympic qualification.[7][8] She won the Australian national championships again in 2011, along with the Oceania Championships and the National Titles team events.[2] By 2012, she was the top-ranked Australian competitor in her event and class.[4]

Dodd riding at the 2012 London Paralympics

Dodd was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London in equestrian events with her horse Waikiwi.[2][9][10] These Games were her first,[2] and she was the youngest Australian equestrian competitor. A fund raiser was organised by Arcadia, New South Wales, residents.[9] While her own costs and the cost of her horse were covered by Australian Paralympic Committee and Equestrian Australia, funds were required for her coach.[9] She was placed 12th in the Individual Championship Test – Grade IV, and 11th in the Individual Freestyle Test – Grade IV and Team Test – Grade IV.[11]

Wheelchair basketball

After the London Paralympics, Dodd took up wheelchair basketball. She started for the Sydney University Flames in the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League in 2013. She has to strap her fingers and wrists, and usually dislocates a shoulder during a game. "I've had a few bangs and scrapes and been tipped out of my chair a few times," she concedes, "but it's really fun. The fast pace really gives you an adrenalin kick and the girls I play with are awesome."[12] "If I have chose between my two sports for Rio," she said, "I will go with basketball."[5] She made her debut with the national team, known as the Gliders, at the Osaka Cup in Osaka in February 2015.[13] The Gliders won bronze.[14] In June 2015, Dodd was selected as part of the under 25 team (known as the Devils) for the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing in July.[5] The Devils won silver.[15] By this time her health had deteriorated. She had to use a wheelchair much of the time, and her classification had dropped to a 2.5 point player.[5] In 2015, she was reclassified a 2.0.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Hannah Dodd". Equestrian Australia. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Hannah Dodd". Australian Paralympic Committee. 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012. This page erroneously gives her date of birth as 27 February 1992.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Machado, Lawrence. "Hannah's bravery shines through the pain for Australia". Rouse Hill Times. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Portelli, Emily (6 June 2012). "Para TROOPER". The Weekly Times. Melbourne, Australia. p. H14.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Machado, Lawrence (25 June 2015). "Paralympian Dodd a Dare Devil". Rouse Hill Times. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Hannah Dodd – London 2012 – Official Australian Paralympic Team Website". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 Priestley, Andrew. "Hannah needs another horse in a hurry". North Shore Times. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  8. ↑ Murray, Therese. "Galston's Hannah Dodd needs a ride to London Paralympics". Hills Shire Times. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 "Community push to help local Paralympian". Hornsby & Upper North Shore Advocate. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  10. ↑ Hyndman, Iain (17 July 2012). "Worldwide lands London spot". Wanganui Chronicle. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "Equestrian – Dressage". London 2012 – Official Australian Paralympic Team Website. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  12. ↑ Machado, Lawrence (27 May 2013). "Arcadia's Hannah Dodd swaps Paralympic dressage for basketball". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney.
  13. ↑ "Gliders Defeat Canada to Open Osaka Friendship Games". Basketball Australia. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Osaka Cup 2015: Great Britain take Silver Medal". British Wheelchair Basketball. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  15. ↑ "Devils earn silver at the IWBF U25 World Championships". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  16. ↑ "Player statistics for Hannah Dodd (2.0)". Fox Sports. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
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