Closing Ceremony – LIVE - ABC1 Monday, September 10 at 5:20am AEST

The Closing Ceremony for the 2012 London Paralympic Games will air live on Australian television, courtesy of ABC1 on Monday, 10th of September at 5.20 am AEST. Director Kim Gavin has promised that in celebrating festivals, the closing ceremony will include visuals and stunts as well as a musical line up.

This year’s Closing Ceremony promises to be an event unto itself, boasting a sold out show and a number of well known names working behind the scenes to create a performance to be remembered, including Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry. The televised event will be hosted on ABC1 by Stephaine Brantz, Adam Hills and Beijing triple gold medallist, Heath Francis.

However, the greatest draw card for the Paralympic Closing Ceremony is world renowned musical act Coldplay, who will be joined by guest stars Rhianna and Jay-Z. Coldplay are scheduled to appear for 30 minutes of the 3 hour show that is packed with entertainment. The 2012 London Paralympic Closing Ceremony will see the flame extinguished on a phenomenal Paralympic Games which saw 2.7 million tickets sold, exceeding sales targets and achieving a record number of ticket sales.

The 2012 London Paralympic Games was a success for participating Deakin University Alumni and students, with Richard Colman winning gold in the Men’s 800m Wheelchair Sprints and bronze in both the 4 x 400m Relay and 400m Sprints. Cobi Crispin won a silver medal with the Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team, The Gliders, and Madeleine Hogan took home the bronze for Javelin.

If you are interested in the courses our Olympic students are studying, go to the Deakin Spirit site and see what a degree at Deakin can do for you.

Source: deakin.edu.au

Richard Colman and the Australian Relay Team Win a Paralympic Bronze Medal in the 4 X 400m Relay Team

Deakin University Alumnus - Richard Colman - Bronze Medal - London 2012 4x400m RelayPosting a season best of 3:13.42, Richard Colman, Matthew Cameron, Natheniel Arkley, and Richard Nicholson have won Bronze in a thrilling 4 X 400m Relay final. China powered to Gold with a World Record 3:05.46, with Thailand managing to just hold off the Aussies. Just 0.6 of a second separated Thailand in second, Australia in third, and  Korea in fourth. 

The medal takes Richards tally to one Gold and two Bronze for London adding to an impressive two Gold, two Silver, and three Bronze over the last three Paralympics. Go to deakin.edu.au/deakin-spirit show them how proud we are.

Source: deakin.edu.au

Congratulations to The Gliders on a Silver in the Womens Wheelchair Basketball Final

The Silver Medal - Australian Womens Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball team - The Gliders - London 2012 Paralympics, have taken home the silver after  a big match against Germany. This is the fourth consecutive Paralympic medal win for the team.

The game for gold was always going to be a tough one, and both teams gave it everything in an exciting match that looked like it could turn at any point. While Australia led early in the first quarter, the German team came back to take the lead. Despite chipping away, The Gliders were unable to recover and regain the lead.

Deakin University student Cobi Crispin scored 6 points in the game and at the beginning of the fourth quarter Germany led by only four points, a lead they would gradually extend to win by 14 points.

Congratulations to the team on winning the silver medal in a tremendous Paralympics performance.

Source: deakin.edu.au

Richard Colman and the Australian 4 X 400m Relay Team Race Saturday Evening 10pm

Deakin University Alumnus Richard Colman will be racing with Matthew Cameron, Natheniel Arkley, and Richard Nicholson. Watch the teams race around Olympic Stadium in a test of team work. The Australian 4 X 400m Relay Team  are looking strong for a medal with a Gold, Silver, and Bronze from individual events.

Heat one starts Saturday evening 8th September at 10pm AEST to decide lanes for the final later that night at 5:30 am Sunday morning AEST. Look out for highlights on ABC 1  and go to deakin.edu.au/deakin-spirit to follow their progress.

Source: deakin.edu.au

Richard Colman through to Mens 200m Final by 0.01 seconds

Richard Colman missed out on automatic qualification after coming third in Heat one of the 200m Wheelchair sprints with a time of 26.75 seconds. Instead he had a nerve wracking wait for the results of heats two and three. Heat three had Mickey Bushell of Great Britain come third with 26.73 and Joshua George of USA came third in Heat two with a 26.76 second run. The results mean Richard Colman is through to the Finals but 0.01 seconds, the smallest time difference measured at the Olympics. 

Richard will now be racing for Gold later tonight 5:30 am, Saturday September the 8th. Follow his progress at deakin.edu.au/deakin-spirit.

Source: deakin.edu.au

Richard Colman Lines Up for Men’s 200m – Sprints, Friday 9pm AEST

After winning Bronze in the 400m and Gold in the 800m, Richard lines up for the Men’s 200m – T53 Wheelchair Sprint qualifiers as a favourite for a medal.  Richard will race against Brent Lakatos of Canada for the third time in Heat one of the 200m qualifiers.

The 200m heats start Friday, 7th September at 9pm AEST. A finishing in the top will secure a place for the finals later in the day at 5:30am, Saturday, 8th September. Keep watching deakin.edu.au/deakin-spirit for updates on Richards progress and show him your support.

Source: deakin.edu.au

Australian Womens Wheelchair Basketball Team Play for Gold after a One Point Victory over the United States

USA came out strong, shooting their way to a 12-10 lead in the thanks to a 10 point quarter by Desi Miller. Hoops were traded in the second with neither side able to build a lead and the quarter ending 26-26. Australian shot 12 with multiple scorers and shut USA down with only 2 points to end the quarter with a 10 point lead 38-28.  USA fought back in the third to make it a one point game with 27 seconds to go in the last quarter. USA had possession in the last seconds of the match but the Australian defence applied enough pressure to send the shot wide and win the match for the Australians. 

The thrilling one point win over Basketball powerhouse the United States puts Australian in the Gold medal final against Germany, Saturday morning September 8th, at 6am. 

Visit deakin.edu.au/deakin-spirit to follow their progress and watch out for the game on ABC 1 and 2.

Source: deakin.edu.au

Richard Colman wins Gold in the Men’s 800m T53 Wheelchair Sprint

Richard Colman wins Gold in the Mens 800m T53 Wheelchair SprintAfter Gold in his debut in Athens 2004 and fourth in Beijing 2008, Richard reclaimed Olympic Gold in the T53 800m Wheelchair Sprints at London 2012. Richard came from behind to win gold with a time of 1:41.13 beating Brett Lakatos of Canada and Joshua George of the United States. The Gold is a welcome addition to Richards Bronze in the 400m sprint to build an impressive six Paralympic medals, with two gold, two silver, and two bronze in three Olympics. 

His winning form stems from his determination and ability to adjust his plans during the race. Richard was able to swing wide around the back straight to get past Joshua George and edge out Brent Lakatos. Richard said after the race:

“The race didn’t play out the way I thought it would in my head but I made sure that I made changes as the race unfolded to find myself in a good spot.” 

Congratulations Richard on winning Gold in the Men’s 800m T53 Wheelchair Sprint. Discover the story behind Richard and follow his progress in the 200m and 4x400m Relay at the deakin.edu.au/deakin-spirit site.

Source: deakin.edu.au

Rebecca Mcdonnell and Melissa Tapper pair up for the Women’s Class 6-10 Team Table Tennis Quarterfinals

Thursday 6th September, 8:30pm AEST, after a bye in the first round Rebecca Mcdonnell and Melissa Tapper will play France in a five game Table Tennis elimination final. Due to the unique classification challenges of Paralympic team sports the Team matches consist of four singles matches and one doubles match.

A win will put Rebecca and Melissa through to the Table Tennis Semifinals later the same day that will be Friday the 7th at 4am AEST. Look out for highlights on ABC 1 and 2, and go to deakin.edu.au/deakin-spirit to get the stories behind our athletes.

Source: deakin.edu.au

Cobi Crispin and the Australian Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team Head to the Semifinals after beating Mexico

A 62-37 win over Mexico in the quarterfinals continues the Australians momentum towards a medal. Thursday September 6th at 10pm AEST, they will be playing against long time rivals, the United States in the semifinals after a 67-55 win by the United States over Canada.

Cobi Crispin and Amber Merritt will need to continue their shooting form backed by the Australians strong defense in what is shaping up to be the clash of the tournament. A win against the United States will see the Australians playing Netherlands or Germany for Gold.

Go to deakin.edu.au/deakin-spirit to follow their progress and look for highlights on ABC 1 and 2.

Source: deakin.edu.au

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