Born with cerebral palsy, Kath Proudfoot is a competitive athlete who has continued to shine in a very non-athletic family. While her New Zealand born family sees sport as a form of cruel punishment, Kath loves nothing more than competing.

Kath was “discovered” at the very first APC Paralympic Talent Search day in Newcastle in March 2005 and has not looked back since. A world class performer in field events, Kath broke the world record in javelin at the 2006 IPC World Athletics Championships in Assen, Netherlands. Prior to her starring performance in Holland, Kath competed at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and won gold at the National Championships in javelin.

At the Beijing Games, the talent search star won a silver medal in the discus with a throw of 23.01m, a season’s best. Although she would have liked a medal in shot put - where she placed fourth - she felt she performed the best she could on the day. For Kath, it was incredible and inspiring to meet so many athletes with different disabilities from around the world.

Her experience in Beijing only motivated her more to continue on to London 2012 and her results suggest she is right on track to perform. Kath broke the Commonwealth record in discus at the 2011 IPC World Championships in Christchurch and placed fourth in shot put. She again stood among the best Australian athletes at the 2011 National Championships in snaring a silver medal in shot put. The performance followed the two gold medals Kath won at the 2010 Nationals.

Despite spending three years of her childhood in Wales and having a New Zealand heritage, Kath is an avid Australian sports supporter. She describes her scariest moment as being photographed in her Australian uniform outside the New Zealand residences at the Commonwealth Games village.

Kath is also a speech pathologist and plans to finish her PhD at the University of Newcastle over the next few years. She enjoys mind mazes, mensa puzzles and cryptic crosswords, all aside from her pinpoint preparations for the London 2012 Games.