Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ) has awarded the PNZ Order of Merit to the late Neroli Fairhall MBE, Paralympian #17, for her outstanding service to PNZ and Paralympic sport in New Zealand.

Determined, meticulous and intrepid, Neroli had a legendary international sporting career – moving seamlessly between Paralympic and Olympic Games and making history as the first disabled Olympian in 1984, recognised as Olympian #432.

Neroli, who passed away in 2006, first competed in Para athletics at the Heidelberg 1972 Paralympic Games in Germany, but it was in Para archery that she truly excelled. She went on to compete at four Paralympic Games, an Olympic Games and a Commonwealth Games.

She also became an administrator for disabled sport and coached elite-level archers.

Born in Christchurch in 1944, Neroli was a keen equestrian who represented Canterbury at national pony club championships. But a serious motorbike accident in the Port Hills when she was 24 left her paralysed from the waist down.

Neroli Fairhall Paralympian #17 Awarded PNZ Order of Merit
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https://paralympics.org.nz/news/neroli-fairhall-paralympian-17-awarded-pnz-order-of-merit/

Article added: Wednesday 22 May 2024