"Olympic gold medallist Petria Thomas... an orchid named in her honour.
... LC Petria Thomas Butterfly Maiden, was presented to her mother Denise Thomas at the Far North Coast District Orchid Council's Mother's Day orchid spectacular... A former Mullumbimby resident, Petria's swimming career spanned three Olympics. Despite recurrent illness and injury, she won three Olympic gold medals, was inducted into the Australian Institute of Sport Swimming Hall of Fame in 1996 and was crowned the AIS Athlete of the Year in 2001 and 2002. In mid 2005, Petria released an autobiography Swimming Against The Tide, in which she described her career, including her experiences with depression and injuries. Petria, who currently resides in Canberra with her husband and son, was unable to make it to the orchid-naming ceremony. Petria had just returned from India, where she had been checking facilities for the upcoming Commonwealth Youth Games in October... The orchid, a locally produced hybrid, was donated by El Dorado Orchids in Uralba... orchid spectacular featured 230 plants, including 30 types of orchid. The council, which was started by three growers in the 1990's, now has 600 members from Coffs Harbour to the Tweed." URL : http://www.northernstar.com.au/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3772213 photo : [caption : "Denise Thomas with the 'Butterfly Maiden' orchid named after her daughter Petria Thomas"] http://media.apn.co.nz/regionals//pics/NS1203A9.jpg ********************* Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
