 Lauren Parker in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 December 1988 Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Paratriathlon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Lauren Parker (born 15 December 1988) is an Australian para-triathlete and para-cyclist. She won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.[1] She has won multiple World Triathlon Championships in Women's PTWC.
Parker was born on 15 December 1988 in Belmont, New South Wales.[2] She lives in Newcastle, New South Wales.
Before having to transition to paratriathlon as a result of a serious training accident in April 2017, Parker was a successful triathlete.[3] She took up triathlon at the age of 18 after being a successful junior swimmer.[2] At the 2015 Ironman World Championship in Kona she finished second in the Women's 25–29 Age Group.[4]
The training accident left Parker with a punctured lung, broken ribs, shoulder blade and pelvis, and damaged spinal cord. She spent six months in hospital and spinal rehabilitation unit. She turned to paratriathlon and competes in the PTWC-class for wheelchair athletes. After three months training, she won the bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, Queensland.[5]
At the 2020 Summer Paralympics Parker fished second and won the silver medal with a time of 1:06.26.[6] She was just 0.01 of a second behind the Gold medal winner Kendall Gretsch of the United States.
Major PTWC-class international paratriathlon results:[7]
Parker is coached by Dan Atkins.
In her first major international para cycling event, Parker won the gold medal in the Women's Time Trial H3 and the silver medal in the Women's Road Race H3 at the 2023 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Glasgow.[10]
