Eve Rimmer

Eve Rimmer BEM (1937–1996) was born in Whakatane, New Zealand and was a New Zealand athlete. Growing up in the small rural town of Edgecumbe, Eve was a talented young athlete. As Eve says in her biography “On natural ability alone, I held the school’s long jump record for many years” . This made up for her poor academic credentials. As soon as she was old enough she left school. In 1952 at age fifteen, Eve was left paralysed from the waist down when the vehicle she was in crashed on a dark wet night. This life changing experience did not prevent Eve Rimmer from becoming one of the best athletes in the world. She went on to be a multi-medal winner in shot put, javelin, pentathlon, discus, swimming and archery, In 1973 she received the British Empire Medal. “Eve Rimmer is one of New Zealand's most renowned athletes, a member of the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, holder of fifteen paralympic medals, eight of them Gold.” The same spirit was there as before. She went on to get married and after being told she would probably never be able to conceive, gave birth to two healthy girls. Eve Rimmer has since been regarded as an inspiration to those with disabilities and able-bodied people. She was actively involved with the paraplegic organisations throughout New Zealand. She gave many paraplegics throughout the world the ability to believe that they could achieve anything they wanted to.