Less than a year after he first competed professionally in athletics, Simon Patmore exploded onto the international racing scene at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games to win the T46 100m gold medal.

Born with erbs palsy which limits the movement in his left arm, Simon has always been a keen sportsman and grew up playing club rugby union, soccer and cricket. It wasn’t until his school teachers encouraged him to try athletics and cross-country running that his focus turned to the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

That same year, Simon suffered a dislocated shoulder during a rugby tackle and was forced to delay plans of athletic glory to have a shoulder reconstruction. After recovering from the surgery, he returned to athletics mid-2009, looking to take his life in a new direction. With the 2010 Commonwealth Games in his sights, Simon dedicated his life to achieving his goal of winning a medal and is proud of what he has achieved so far.

Simon suffered a setback at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch when he was disqualified for a false start in the 100m. But he did win bronze in the 200m and won the 200m at the 2011 National Championship, stamping Simon as a clear medal chance at London 2012.

In the same T46 classification as now retired Australian champion Heath Francis, Simon uses Francis’ phenomenal international results as inspiration, hoping to one day break the sprinter’s world records in the 200m and 400m. Simon also uses American surfer Bethany Hamilton as inspiration for teaching herself to surf after losing her arm in a shark attack.

When he’s not training with coach Brett Jones, Simon works as an IT technical officer for medical imaging equipment at Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane. He developed his IT expertise through pulling apart computers and learning to put them back together. Simon wants to see the world and enjoys travelling to different places through sport and looks forward to celebrating what is sure to be his best birthday ever at the Opening Ceremony of the London Paralympic Games.