Nicole Kullen
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |
 Australia |
| Born |
15 April 1980 Penrith, New South Wales |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Equestrian |
Nicole Cassandra Kullen (born April 15, 1980) is an Australian equestrian paralympian.
Personal
In August 1996, Kullen contracted meningococcal meningitis septicemia.[1][2] Kullen spent the next six weeks on life support in an induced coma. After coming out of the coma she spent a further six months in hospital recovering from the illness and being rehabilitated.[1] Due to the illness both her legs were amputated, she now has limited arm movements, limited strength and no function in both hands and wrists. Her internal organs continue to cause health implications due to the effect the illness had on her organs.[1] In 2000, Kullen lost all function in both kidneys and now relies on peritoneal dialysis four times a day.[1] In 2003, Kullen had the premature birth of her son Kyle, but he later died following complications of the birth.[3]
Career
In 2000, Kullen started competing in dressage competitions with the Equestrian Federation of Australia for able-bodied riders and the RDAA for riders with a disability.[1] Her finished international competition was the First International Combined Festival of Dressage at the International Para-Equestrian Competition in Belgium in 2006.[1] At the 2007 FEI World Para Equestrian Dressage Championships, she won a silver and bronze medal.[1] At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, she finished fourth in the freestyle and eleventh in the championship.[1]
After Kullen's retirement from international duties she focused her time to her Arabian horses at Nikshar Stud. Margaret Kullen started putting her stallion's in shows and shows them around in her wheelchair. She posed a question to the board of the Arabian Horse Society of Australia (AHSA) saying that, “there was no rule regarding showing horses from a wheelchair.[4]” The board responded after consultation with Kullen and introduced a new rule into the AHSA Rule Book[5] allowing wheelchair users to compete.
Recognition
- 2005 - EFA NSW RDA Rider of the Year Award [6]
- 2006 - Finalist in the Elders Nicoll and Ireland Sportsperson of the Year [6]
- 2007 - The Horse Magazine ‘Eqvalan Rider of the Year’;[6] Finalist in the Australian Sports Awards run by the Confederation of Australian Sport in the category of “Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability” [6]*2008 - Finalist in the Elders Nicoll and Ireland Sportsperson of the Year;[6] Awarded the NSW Institute of Sport ‘Ian Thorpe/Grand Slam International – Outstanding Achievement Female’ award at NSW Institute of Sport Awards Dinner [7]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Nicole Kullen". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ↑ "Nicole Kullen". EFANSW. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ↑ "Kullen doing it in name of mother and son". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ↑ "Life at Nikshar Stud, Australia - an update from Nicole Kullen". The Arabian Magazine Online. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ↑ "Arabian Horse Society of Australia" (PDF). The Arabian Horse Society of Australia Limited. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Nicole Kullen". Equestrian Federation of NSW. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ↑ "The Edge" (PDF). NSW Institue of Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2015.