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Nickname | Charlene Todman | ||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 1931 Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 11 September 2018 Sydney, Australia | (aged 86–87)||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Charlene Stuart Meade (née Todman; 1931 – 11 September 2018)[1] was an Australian athlete who became the first Australian woman to participate in the Stoke Mandeville Games, the precursor to the Paralympic Games. She finished second amongst women in the archery event, and later competed in the 1959 edition in para-swimming, archery and javelin. At the 1974 games, she won a silver medal in table tennis. Todman later became active in dog sports.
Todman had to use a wheelchair following an accident with a horse when she was fourteen years old. She rehabilitated at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and later volunteered with the New South Wales Society for Crippled Children. In 2008, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her efforts in serving Australia's disability community.