PA Saddened By The Loss Of Paralympic Pioneer

The Australian Paralympic movement has lost one of its most revered pioneers, following the passing of Bruno Moretti.

One of 12 athletes selected on the Australian Paralympic Team for the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, Moretti also competed at the 1968 Games in Tel Aviv and was a playing coach for the Australian wheelchair basketball team at the New York/Stoke Mandeville Paralympic Games in 1984.

Moretti played both wheelchair basketball and table tennis in Rome, combining with Bill Mather-Brown to win Australia’s first ever Paralympic table tennis medal – a silver in the men’s Doubles B event. He went on to win a gold and two silver medals in wheelchair racing at his second Paralympic Games.

Paralympics Australia Chief Executive Lynne Anderson said: “Our deepest condolences are extended to Bruno’s loved ones and team-mates on behalf of the entire Australian Paralympic movement.

“The Paralympic Games has become the global phenomenon it is today because of the contributions made by Bruno and his fellow trailblazers, who made incredible progress despite the countless challenges they faced in the early Paralympic era.

“The determination and the resilience displayed by Bruno and his teammates really was remarkable. Every Australian Paralympic Team that has followed over the past 60 years is in debt to them all.

“We have lost an important figure in our history, which is very sad indeed.”

Born in 1941 in Ivanoe, Victoria, Moretti’s spine was dislocated when he was delivered four hours after his twin brother. He grew up with a love of sport that proved vital to improving his health. As a 16-year-old, he was transferred to the Austin Hospital’s Spinal Unit in Melbourne in 1957, where he made strong progress with his rehabilitation process and grew his reputation as a formidable and versatile competitor.

He competed at the inaugural Australian Paralympic Games, hosted by the Victorian Paraplegic Association in March 1960 and joined Kevin Coombs as the two Victorian members selected on the Australian Paralympic Team to venture overseas six months later.

Moretti’s involvement in Paralympic sport would continue to hold a special place in his life. He was a proud attendee of the 1960 Australian Paralympic Team’s 50-year reunion in Sydney and continued to speak fondly about representing his country.

“Representing Australia to me was the best thing to do, especially being disabled,” he told Paralympics Australia in 2010.

“Well in 1960 it was a new thing, and because I had been brought up in an Italian family, going over there and living away from my family was a totally different ball game, it was a new experience for me.

“My mother was absolutely elated when she found out, especially going to Italy because that’s where she was from.”

In 2010, Moretti was interviewed as part of a partnership between Paralympics Australia and the National Library of Australia (NLA) to record the oral histories of people who have played a significant role in the development of Paralympic sport in Australia. 

By: Tim Mannion, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 3 November 2021