NATALIE Smith has turned adversity into gold and realised a dream once held by her grandfather.
A hiking accident left her a paraplegic, but it couldn’t quell her desire to compete.
The former Northern Hospital theatre nurse is a star member of the Australian Paralympic air rifle shooting team and will compete in London on August 29.
Her grandfather, Norman Lutz, was an Australian shooting team member at the Melbourne 1956 Olympics, but a heart attack stopped him competing. Smith’s own injury put her on a path to the London 2012 Paralympics.
Smith, 36, was an equestrian rider and skydiver who had rarely held a firearm when one misplaced step plunged her over a cliff, snapping parts of her spine.
Confined to a wheelchair, Smith retained a competitive streak. She tried out at a Paralympic shooting day in 2010 and impressed the coaches. Smith, who lives in Hidden Valley, outside Wallan, won gold at the International Paralympic Committee 2011 World Cup at Fort Benning in the US, breaking an Australian record with her score.
She won a second World Cup gold in Sydney the same year. “I am so happy that I still have the ability to compete,” she said. “I can’t do the things I did before, but I can use my competitive nature for different things. I’m nervous and excited but I have to stay calm.”
