Career
Nugent was paralysed in a motorbike accident and first became involved in wheelchair sport at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane in 1963 at the age of 17. He began in wheelchair basketball and field events at Kingshome Rehabilitation Centre and became interested in canoeing due to physiotherapist Vernon Hill. He has been married to Paralympic swimmer Pam Foley since 1975.
In 1977 he started a Brisbane-based wheelchair-manufacturing business, Surgical Engineering.
Nugent competed at his first National Games in Perth in 1968, and was a regular part of the Queensland team for the games in the 1970s and 1980s. His first international competition was the 1977 FESPIC Games in Sydney.
Once his family and business life settled, he began training six days a week to pursue his interest in international competition. After his retirement from Paralympic competition, he focused on road-racing events to both compete and promote his new wheelchair designs.
He has participated in all major international wheelchair road-racing events, including the Beppu-Ōita Marathon, the Sempach Marathon, and the Peachtree Road Race.
