Russell Short

Russell Luke Short, OAM (born 7 May 1969) is an Australian legally blind athlete, who has competed at eight Paralympics from 1988 to 2016 and won six gold, two silver and four bronze medals at the Games. He competes in discus, javelin, and shot put. Personal Russell Luke Short was born on 7 May 1969 in the Victorian town of Poowong. He has 2% peripheral vision due to macular degeneration, which first began to affect him at the age of four and a half; his brother also has the disease. He attended Korumburra Secondary College. He played many sports in high school, including swimming, diving, and basketball, but he could no longer participate in these sports as his sight gradually became more impaired. He took up discus and shot put because he found he enjoyed throwing things. In 1993, he kayaked across the Torres Strait from Cape York to New Guinea as part of a team of four men including Paralympian Ched Towns, and also walked the Kokoda Track with them. These experiences were recounted in the 1995 documentary The Blind Leading The Blind and the 2004 book Blind leading the blind : a journey of vision across the Torres Strait and Kokoda track. He lives in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Huntly with his wife, Christine, who is also legally blind, and two sons, Jim and Will. He works as a massage therapist.