// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Graham Condon a cracker under pressure?
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| Full name | Graham Thomas Condon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 11 February 1949 Christchurch, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 8 September 2007 (aged 58) Christchurch, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country | New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Graham Thomas Condon QSM JP (11 February 1949 – 8 September 2007) was a disabled athlete who won seven medals for New Zealand competing in Paralympic swimming and athletic events and a total of 36 medals in international competition overall. He was also a local-body politician and a disability advocate.
Biography
[edit]
Condon was born in Christchurch in 1949.[1] He was rendered a paraplegic after contracting childhood polio.[2] Condon was the only New Zealander to take part in six consecutive Paralympics.[3] He competed in the Paralympics in athletics and swimming at both the 1968 Tel Aviv and 1972 Heidelberg Games, and won a gold medal in the Men's Discus 3 event at the latter competition.[4] He participated in athletics and swimming at the 1976 Toronto Paralympics[2][5] and won a gold medal in the Men's Discus 2 event and a silver medal in the Men's Slalom 2 event at the 1980 Arnhem Games; he also participated in swimming at the 1980 games.[4] At the 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville Games, he won two bronze medals in the Men's Marathon 2 and Men's Slalom 2 events.[4] During the Marathon, he was with a bloc of competitors from Australia, America, and Canada when he hit a pothole around the 20-kilometre (12 mi) mark, causing the competitor behind him, Robert McIntyre, to lose his balance and flip upside down. Condon helped McIntyre back into position and ended up coming third.[4][6] His final Paralympics were the 1988 Seoul Games, where he won a silver medal in the Men's Slalom 2 event.[4] He won a total of seven Paralympic medals and 36 medals in international competitions throughout his career.[7]
He was one of the founding members of Parafed Canterbury, which strives to boost sport and recreational involvement among disabled people.[8] He was also a board member of the national sports agency SPARC for five years.[9] Condon was elected as a Christchurch city councillor in 1995 and served four terms as a city councillor.[2][10] He was standing for re-election for the Shirley-Papanui ward in the October 2007 election.[2]
Death
[edit]On Saturday 8 September 2007 the 58-year-old Condon was killed in an accident involving a car while riding his hand-propelled bicycle.[2] He was struck by a fifteen-year-old driver on Lower Styx Road, Brooklands.[11] The funeral was held at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament where hundreds of mourners paid their respects.[12] He was survived by his wife of 35 years, Kath, and his two children, Craig and Andrea.[2][13]
Recognition
[edit]Condon was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for community service in the 1982 Queen's Birthday Honours,[14] and a New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal in 1990.[13]
The Graham Condon Recreation and Sports Centre at the Papanui High School campus in Papanui, which opened on 9 October 2011, is named after him.[15] Parafed Canterbury have also named a scholarship after him.[8]
References
[edit]- ↑ Landells, Steve. "Graham Condon". Athletics New Zealand. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Graham Condon". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ↑ "High achiever Condon remembered". TVNZ. 9 September 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Graham Condon". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
- ↑ "Toronto 1976". Paralympics New Zealand. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
- ↑ Gray, Alison (1997). Against the Odds: New Zealand Paralympians. Hodder Moa Beckett. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-86958-566-2.
- ↑ King, Caroline (10 October 2011). "Graham Condon's name lives on". Star Canterbury. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - 1 2 "Nelson takes out sport scholarship". The Press. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ↑ "SPARC acknowledges former board member, Graham Condon". Infonews.co.nz. 9 September 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ↑ Hudson, Alice (9 September 2007). "Paralympian killed". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ↑ "Teen in Condon death on restricted". TVNZ. 10 September 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ↑ Scott, Don (14 September 2007). "Funeral biggest show in city". The Press. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - 1 2 "Canterbury loses braveheart councillor". The Press. 10 September 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ↑ "No. 49010". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 12 June 1982. p. 41.
- ↑ "New Recreation and Sport Centre honours late Graham Condon". Christchurch City Council. 3 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
External links
[edit]- Graham Condon at Paralympics New Zealand
- Graham Condon at the International Paralympic Committee (1968, 1972, 1980, 1984, 1988)
- 1949 births
- 2007 deaths
- New Zealand lawyers with disabilities
- New Zealand politicians with disabilities
- Polio survivors
- New Zealand male swimmers
- Wheelchair discus throwers
- New Zealand wheelchair racers
- People with paraplegia
- Road incident deaths in New Zealand
- Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal
- New Zealand justices of the peace
- Christchurch City Councillors
- Wheelchair-category Paralympic competitors
- Paralympic athletes for New Zealand
- Paralympic swimmers for New Zealand
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
- Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Paralympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Paralympics
- Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Paralympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Paralympics
- Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Paralympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Paralympics
- Swimmers at the 1980 Summer Paralympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Paralympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Paralympics
- Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Paralympic gold medalists for New Zealand
- Paralympic silver medalists for New Zealand
- Paralympic bronze medalists for New Zealand
- Medalists at the 1972 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics
- 20th-century New Zealand politicians
- 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen