NATASHA PRICE
The CV is impressive – and even moreso when you consider where she has come from.
Ms Price ended up blind and paralysed almost overnight in 2008 due a rare disease she didn’t know she had.
She later had a relapse which left her completely paralysed from the neck down. She was bed bound. For nine years. The “opinions of others convinced me that my life could no longer amount to anything and I should let go of any hopes, dreams and big goals I had for my future”.
“After leading a life of solitude, barely leaving my bed, my natural determination started to drive me to want more from life. Whilst I’d always been extremely positive about my situation, I’d also been very accepting of it. Things needed to change. So in 2017, whilst still unable to get myself out of bed unaided, I made a decision to do a marathon. Crazy right?! But 12 months later, I was on that start line and completed it with the hugest sense of pride and tears streaming down my face. These days I draw on the feelings of inadequacy, hopelessness and fear I felt during those years, as well as my natural drive, motivation, determination and platform as an athlete to teach
Inclusion, disability awareness, resilience and passion and purpose.”
It has led to so much. She is now an elite wheelchair racer, an entrepreneur, a volunteer, a public speaker and the winner of many awards – now including the Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year ‘Champion of Sport’ sponsored by Harvey Norman. Other gongs and achievements include being the winner of the 2019 Auckland Marathon, the Queensland state champion in three track events, the bronze medallist in the 400 metres at the Athletics Australia National Championship in 2021-22 as well as being the Oceania Champion and Championship Record Holder in four track events.
And she’s not done yet: “I have dreams of representing Australia in a marathon at the Paralympics in 2024.
“I’m also the founder of Invincable, an organization that exists to give visibility to disability and empower all people, regardless of ability, to embrace their challenges and chase their dreams.
“Being female isn’t always easy. We have so many pressures from years of conditioning about what It means to be female, how to act, what you should do, what your priorities should be. This is even more prevalent in 2022 when the expectations of social media are ever present and the shift in life overall since the pandemic. Sadly as women, we often allow the thoughts and feelings of others to dictate our actions. But, in reality, you can not serve others around you without first serving yourself. The most important qualities any woman can have is courage of her convictions, certainty in her path and not allowing the opinions of others to make her stray from that path in life.”
MADDIE MCTERNAN
The Australian Paralympian swimmer medalled at her first Australian nationals event in 2015 and moved to the Gold Coast a year later. Maddie is an ambassador for Variety Children’s Charity and does community service for Surf Life Saving as well as volunteering for Arundel Parking Riding. On top of that she is mentoring last year’s Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year Champions of Sport winner and fellow Paralympic swimmer Montana Atkinson. Her mother notes: “Our girl is humble - and she just wants to help others achieve their dreams.”
LINDA BISHOP
The president and founder of the Allstars Netball Club Gold Coast. “I would say what has brought me to your attention would be my devotion to Allstars spending countless hours working for betterment of the club. I have never expected or sought recognition for my efforts. I prefer to be in the background and the focus be on the kids. I had a vision of wanting to create a fun environment for people to be able to enjoy playing sport. I devote myself to providing a caring environment fostering a spirit of fun for our players to learn skills with emphasis on sportsmanship, respect and resilience while enjoying team sport.”
The most important qualities any woman can have is courage of her convictions, certainty in her path