I was sorry to read today that Neroli Fairhall has died.

Fairhall won a gold medal in Brisbane in 1982 in the only time archery has been included in the Commonwealth Games.
She also was the first paraplegic to compete in the Olympic Games at Los Angeles in 1984 and was awarded an OBE for her services to archery.

Back in the 80s, when I was living on a small farm near Timaru, Neroli visited us a few times. That’s when I found out that pulling an archery bow is very hard work, although I only tried the once. It was also when I found out that a lot of the items in our kitchen were on shelves too high for her to reach, and that a gravel driveway doesn’t make an easy path for a wheelchair.

I didn’t know her well, but am saddened by her death.

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