Career
Growing up in the small rural town of Edgecumbe, Eve was a talented young athlete. As Eve says in her biography “On natural ability alone, I held the school’s long jump record for many years”. This made up for her poor academic credentials.
As soon as she was old enough she left school.
In 1952 at age fifteen, Eve was left paralysed from the waist down when the vehicle she was in crashed on a dark wet night. This life changing experience did not prevent Eve Rimmer from becoming one of the best athletes in the world.
She went on to get married and after being told she would probably never be able to conceive, gave birth to two healthy girls. Eve Rimmer has since been regarded as an inspiration to those with disabilities and able-bodied people.
She was actively involved with the paraplegic organisations throughout New Zealand.
Eve Rimmer was the first woman selected to represent New Zealand at the Paralympics. She was the only female named along with fourteen men to go to the 1968 Tel Aviv Games and the only one to bring home medals. She continued to represent New Zealand at the games in Heidelberg (1972), Toronto (1976) and Arnhem (1980), winning a total of 14 Paralympic medals, of which 8 were gold.
Eve was also very successful in the Commonwealth Paraplegic Games and at domestic competitions.
