Nova Peris

ABOUT NOVA PERIS

Groundbreaking Aboriginal Australian athlete and politician known for being both the first indigenous Australian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal and first indigenous woman to be elected to a federal parliamentary seat.

She started her athletic career as a member of the Australian women's field hockey team, with whom she won gold at the 1996 Olympics. She then switched to track and competed at the 2000 Olympics as a runner.

With the endorsement of the Australian Labor Party, she was elected senator of the Northern Territory in 2013.

She has three children, one with ex-husband Sean Kneebone and two with ex-husband Daniel Batman. She married Scott Appleton in 2012.

She and Rechelle Hawkes were teammates on the 1996 gold medal-winning field hockey team.