1. Nazim Erdem has won two gold and two silver medals at five Paralympics from 2000 to 2016.
10 Facts About Nazim Erdem
1. 2.
Nazim Erdem was born on 1 August 1970 in the Turkish city of Kayseri and later immigrated to Australia with his family.
3.
Nazim Erdem became a quadriplegic at the age of 20 after diving off a pier into shallow water in an effort to impress some watching girls.
4.
Nazim Erdem played Australian rules football and was an amateur boxer before the accident.
5.
Nazim Erdem first played for the Victorian wheelchair rugby team in 1994, and first played for the national team, the Australian Steelers, in the 1998 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships.
6.
Nazim Erdem was part of the national team at the 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, winning a silver medal with them at the 2000 and 2008 games and gold medals in 2012 and 2016.
7.
Nazim Erdem announced his retirement in December 2017 after playing 312 games over two decades for the Steelers.
8.
Nazim Erdem indicated that he would spend more time with his family and his growing role at the Australian Quadriplegic Association.
9.
In June 2012, Nazim Erdem was named the Hume Leaders senior sports star of the week.
10.
In 2016, Nazim Erdem was named the Hume Leader Senior Sports Star of the year.