‘Hulk’ named top athlete

MOUNT Evelyn Paralympian Todd Hodgetts has added another achievement to his already impressive resume, being named Victoria University’s ‘Male Athlete of the Year’.
Hodgetts, 28, who is nicknamed ‘The Hulk’ and who lives with autism, is a seasoned shot-put champion. He was first drawn to the sport after his brother brought home a shot-put from school.
His Paralympic dreams, though, were put on hold when athletes with an intellectual disability were not allowed to compete at the Sydney 2000 Games.
This was, however, revised for the 2012 London Games.
He then set a new F20 shot-put world record of 16.09m at the Australian championships, before breaking his own record to win gold at London.
He went on to win the 2015 World Championships in Doha and plans to defend his title next year in London.
Hodgetts is completing a Diploma of Remedial Massage at Victoria University, with the support of an Elite Performance Sport Scholarship.
He was Athletics Australia’s male para-athlete of the year in 2015.
The Tasmanian-born Hodgetts relocated to the area to complete his studies.