Kevin Richard Coombs, OAM is an Australian wheelchair basketballer and athlete who competed at 5 Paralympics including the first Paralympic Games in 1960. He was the first Australian Aboriginal Paralympic competitor for Australia.
Personal
Coombs was born on 30 May 1941 in the Victorian town of Swan Hill, to Cecil Coombs and Rosie Clayton. After losing his mother at age five, he and his four siblings lived with relatives in the New South Wales town of Balranald. He grew up in rural Victoria in a large family. He became a paraplegic at the age of 12 when he was accidentally shot in the back while out shooting rabbits. He spent time at the Royal Austin Rehabilitation Hospital in Melbourne where he was introduced to sport as part of his rehabilitation program. One of the sports that he competed in was wheelchair basketball. He competed in the first Australian championships in 1960 and was then selected to compete at the 1960 Summer Paralympics. Coombs only brought one wheelchair to the Paralympic Games, the wheelchair he used every day. His wheelchair weighed about. Outside of sport, Coombs worked for the Victorian Department of Human Services until 2000. During his career with the Health Services he established the Koori Hospital Liaison Officer program, was the coordinator of the Koori Drug and Alcohol Program and was also Manager of the Koori Health Unit. Before working at the Department of Health Services, Coombs worked for Community Services Victoria. He is a Wotjobaluk elder.
In 1983 Coombs received a Medal of the Order of Australia "in recognition of service to sport for the disabled and to Aboriginal welfare". He had a street named after him at Sydney Olympic Park. In 2000, Coombs was selected as a torch bearer for the Paralympic torch relay, carrying the torch inside the Stadium. That year, he received an Australian Sports Medal. In 2007, Coombs was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame. Basketball Australia holds a national annual Kevin Coombs Cup for Juniors with the first held in 2007. In 2011, the Victorian Department of Health and Department of Human Services named a meeting room in honour of Coombs achievements. In 2012, Coombs was inducted into the Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll. He is a life Member of Paravics / Wheelchair Sports Victoria. In December 2016, he was inducted into the Australian Paralympic Hall of Fame. At the 2016 Australian Paralympic Committee awards, the Uncle Kevin Coombs Medal for the Spirit of the Games was awarded for the first time.
