Natalie Curtis dead at 34: Tributes paid to Paralympic hero who was part of Australia’s wheelchair basketball squad
FORMER Paralympic star Natalie Curtis has died suddenly aged 34.
The Australian was a member of her country’s wheelchair basketball squad ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.
Curtis, who was the mother of one young son, died on February 5 but her cause of death has not been made public knowledge.
Her sister, Emma, announced the shocking news on Facebook.
She wrote: “If you knew Natalie, you would know she was the most beautiful, kind and talented person.
“She was a daughter, a sister, an auntie and a mother to a beautiful little boy.
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“Everyone who knew her loved her instantly, she had such a kind soul and would do anything for the people she cared for most.”
Curtis was born with spina bifida but was heavily involved in sport from an early age.
After developing a love of swimming, she tragically gave it up after her younger sister drowned in the family pool.
Aged 14, she then took up wheelchair basketball and went on to claim a silver medal at the 2013 Japan Oceania Championships.
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Curtis was born with spina bifida but was heavily involved in sport from an early age.
After developing a love of swimming, she tragically gave it up after her younger sister drowned in the family pool.
Aged 14, she then took up wheelchair basketball and went on to claim a silver medal at the 2013 Japan Oceania Championships.
Curtis would go on to represent Australia in wheelchair basketball as she became a huge name as an avid disability activist.
She went viral online in October after revealing how she was forced to crawl off a plane when Jetstar staff couldn’t provide her with a wheelchair.
The much-loved star, who suffered five spinal fractures following a car accident after returning from the Japan Oceania Championships in 2013, also trained and coached a wheelchair basketball team.
Not-for-profit organisation Sporting Dreams paid tribute to Curtis in a statement.
They wrote: “A young soul taken too soon. She was so much more than an athlete.
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“A vibrant human being, wife, mother to a small boy, business founder and manager of her own company supporting people with disabilities.
“Someone who leads by example. RIP Natalie.”
