Sarah Houbolt
Sarah Houbolt is an Australian Paralympic swimmer and a physical theatre performer. She is a strong advocate for disability rights and the arts.
Personal[]
Houbolt was born in 1983 in Townsville, Queensland.[1] Houbolt was born with the rare Hallermann-Streiff syndrome which affects her bone structure and makes her stand at 144 centimetres tall. She also has partial sight and is legally blind.[2] Houbolt has graduated with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Queensland. She has worked in arts management. In 2017, she was working as a Equity and Diversity Officer (Disability) at University of Technology Sydney.[3]
Sporting career[]
Houbolt classified as an S12 swimmer. She competed at the 1st IBSA World Championships and Games in Madrid, Spain. Her best results were fifth in the Women's 100 m Butterly and sixth in the Women's 100 m Breaststroke.[1] At the 1999 FESPIC Games in Bangkok, Thailand, she won three gold and one silver medal.[1] At the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, her results were seventh in the Women's 100 m Breaststroke SB12 and eighth in the Women's 100 m Butterfly S12. She also swam in the heats of the Women's 50 m Freestyle S12 and Women 100 m Freestyle S12.[4] After the Sydney Paralympics, she moved in circus and physical theatre events.
Artistic career[]
After the Sydney Paralympics, she joined the Vulcana Women's Circus as an aerial performer after wanting to keep the active lifestyle.[5] Her skills include aerials, acrobatics and hula hoops.[3] She has worked with Cirque du Soleil.[3] Houbolt's one-woman show, KooKoo the Birdgirl, has toured Australia and New Zealand.[3]
Her film credits include: Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song (2013), Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012),The Deadly Ponies Gang (2013) and Reflections in the Dust (2018) .[6][7]
Recognition[]
- 1998 - Australia Post - Student of the Year Sports Award [1]
- 1998 - Australian Blind Sports Federation - Most Outstanding Single Performance [1]
- 1998/99 - Queen's Trust for Young Australian Achiever Award [1]
- 2012 - National Artistic Achievement Award by Arts Access Aotearoa [8]
- 2017 - Vision Australia Award [9]
- 2019 - Green Room Award - Performance (by an Individual or Ensemble)[10]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f "Sarah Houbolt". Australian 2000 Paralympic Team website (Archived 1t National Library of Australia). Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ Hoh, Amanda (1 September 2016). "Sarah Houbolt brings her circus act and advocacy for disabled arts to the Festival of Dangerous Ideas". ABC News. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Paralympian Sarah Houbolt wants to change the way we talk about disability". Southern Courier. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ "Sarah Houbiolt". International Paralympic Committee Results. 22 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ Fletcher, Kelsey (11 November 2011). "High flyer has the attitude". Stuff (NZ). Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ Gentle, Tayla (21 February 2019). "This Aussie Film Is So Messed Up The Government Tried To Shut It Down". Pedestrian TV. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ "Sarah Houbolt". IMDb database. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ "Sarah Houbolt - Circus and Physical Theatre Performer". Electronic Music Conference website. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ "Trapeze artist Sarah Houbolt swings in to accept Vision Australia Award". Vision Australia website. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ "Green Room Awards 2019". Green Room website. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
External links[]
- Sarah Houbolt - Performanace Show Reel (YouTube)
- Living people
- Visually impaired category Paralympic competitors
- Female Paralympic swimmers of Australia
- Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
- 1983 births
- S12-classified Paralympic swimmers
- Actors with disabilities
- University of Queensland alumni
- Blind people from Australia
- FESPIC Games competitors