Gael Martin

Australian shot putter, discus thrower and powerlifter

Gael Martin
Personal information
Full nameGael Patricia Mulhall-Martin
Nationality Australia
Born (1956-08-27) 27 August 1956 (age 67)
Melbourne[1]
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight98 kg (216 lb)
Sport
Country Australia
SportAthletics
EventShot put
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Los Angeles Shot put
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1978 Edmonton Shot Put
Gold medal – first place 1986 Edinburgh Shot Put
Gold medal – first place 1986 Edinburgh Discus
Silver medal – second place 1978 Edmonton Discus
Silver medal – second place 1982 Brisbane Shot Put
Silver medal – second place 1982 Brisbane Discus
Women's powerlifting
IPF Women's World Powerlifting Championships
Silver medal – second place 1981 Honolulu +82.5 kg
Gold medal – first place 1983 Adelaide 90 kg
Silver medal – second place 1988 Brussels +90 kg

Gael Patricia Mulhall-Martin (born 27 August 1956) is a former Australian athlete who competed in the shot put and in the discus throw at the Olympic level and also had a career in powerlifting.

Athletics

Born in Melbourne, Mulhall-Martin is daughter of footballer Ken Mulhall, an Australian rules footballer with the St Kilda Football Club.[2]

She won the bronze medal in women's shot put at the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States,[1] becoming the first Australian (male or female) to win an Olympic medal in a throwing event.

Mulhall also competed in four successive Commonwealth Games events from 1974, winning double gold in Shot Put and Discus at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.

Coached by Franz Stampfl, she won a total of 20 senior Australian national championships in her career.[3]

At the 1981 Pan Pacific Conference Games she tested positive for the use of anabolic steroids and received an 18-month ban for cheating.[4]

Powerlifting

Gael Martin represented Australia in the Women's World Powerlifting Championships in 1981, 1983 and 1988. In 1987, Martin received a grant from the ACT Talented Athletes Development Awards program. The higher level grant, which Martin received, was awarded to applicants with international ranking and the support of their sporting organisation.[5]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Gael Mulhall-Martin". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  2. ^ VFL Statistics: Ken Mulhall; "Cleared by Tribunal", The Age, (Wednesday, 29 July 1953), p.12
  3. ^ Athletics Australia Profile
  4. ^ "Drugs blitz on coaches". The Canberra Times. 9 October 1987. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Athletes sign 'no drugs' declaration". The Canberra Times. 9 December 1987. Retrieved 21 April 2014.

References

  • Farber, M., "Drugs hurt career of Aussie woman", The (Montreal) Gazette, (Monday, 4 October 1982), p.F-5
  • Goodwin, D., "Gael's firm — 'I'm not a drug taker' ", (Sydney) Sun Herald, (Sunday, 16 August 1981), p. 17
  • Mitchell, N. and McMahon, P., "Mulhall may take life ban to court", The Age, (Wednesday, 15 July 1981), p. 36
  • Nolan, D., "Gael is hoping to throw for gold", The Australian Women's Weekly, (Wednesday, 21 March 1979), p. 29
  • Webster, J., "Mulhall to start her comeback on Saturday", The Sydney Morning Herald, Wednesday, 28 July 1982, p. 40
  • 1973 photograph of Mulhall with Ray Rigby at an athletic meeting.

External links

  • v
  • t
  • e
Commonwealth Games champions in women's shot put
  • v
  • t
  • e
Australian national champions in women's discus throw
  • v
  • t
  • e
Australian national champions in women's shot put
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