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Nova Peris-Kneebone

Senator
Nova Peris
OAM
Senator for the Northern Territory
In office
7 September 2013 – 9 May 2016
Preceded by Trish Crossin
Personal details
Born Nova Maree Peris
(1971-02-25) 25 February 1971 (age 45)
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Political party Australian Labor Party
Spouse(s) Sean Kneebone (1995–2001)
Daniel Batman (2002–2010)
Scott Appleton (2012 – )
Nova Peris
Personal information
Full name Nova Maree Peris
Nationality Aboriginal Australian
Height 170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Updated on 22 January 2013.

Nova Maree Peris OAM (born 25 February 1971) is an indigenous Australian athlete and former politician. As part of the Australian women's hockey (Hockeyroos) team at the 1996 Olympic Games, she was the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. She later switched sports to sprinting and went to the 1998 Commonwealth Games and 2000 Olympic Games. She was elected to the Australian Senate at the 2013 federal election, after then Prime Minister Julia Gillard named her as a "captain's pick", installing her as the preselected Labor candidate over incumbent Labor senator Trish Crossin. She retired from the Senate in 2016.

Peris was a representative in the Australian Women's Hockey team at the 1996 Summer Olympics, becoming the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal.

In 1997, she switched sports and a year later she became a double gold medalist in the 1998 Commonwealth Games (Kuala Lumpur) winning the 200m sprint with a time of 22.77 seconds and sharing in Australia's 4 × 100 metres relay win. Peris was named Young Australian of the Year in 1997.

Peris continued to represent Australia on the athletics track, running over 200 metres at the 1999 World Athletics Championships and 400 metres at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. She made the Olympic semi-finals in her individual event and ran in the Australian 4 × 400 metres relay team, which made the final, finishing fifth.


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