Daniel Carruthers
Age: 31
based in Dunedin

Daniel received the Quest for Excellence Scholarship in 2004 which
was administered by NZ Foundation for the Deaf and Deaf Association for
hearing impaired students to complete post graduate studies. This resulted in appearing on TV One’s Breakfast show with Alison Mau and interviewed by Paul Holmes on his morning radio show along with several other television appearances both in New Zealand and China. Daniel used his scholarship to conduct in-depth interviews in 21 Chinese cities for his sister city relationships research.

He is currently based in Dunedin completing his Masters thesis on Sister City Relationships between New Zealand and Chinese cities and their implications for tourism
development. He has lived in China for three years and speaks fluent Mandarin
(has a BA in Chinese with a B.Com in Marketing along with a Diploma in
Tourism all from Otago University, all of which is a great achievement for someone who has greater than 80% hearing loss. He is equipped with two powerful digital Hansaton hearing aids.

Daniel has traveled extensively and has done cycle touring throughout China. He recently cycled across Australia helping Chinese in epic ride that finished in Sydney. The event was screened as a series of documentaries on Chinese national television.

At the same time he has been training for the past eight months in preparation for the NZ Mountain bike nationals which were completed at the beginning of March. He placed 8th overall in the expert category and the series plus other New Zealand icon road events will be ideal preparation for the up-coming Deaf World Cycling Championships which will be held in San Francisco. He will be the sole New Zealand representative at the Championships where 11 other countries will also be competing. His road riding ability has been superior to mountain biking of recent and his coach Nick Flyger says he could go well with his power riding and sprint ability at the road events at the World Championships.

Keep up with Daniel’s race reports and other happenings on www.dunnersdan.com

Recent achievements

8th overall in 2006 NZ Community Trust MTB cross country series (Expert Masters)
2 x Bronze medals in Masters Games 2006 MTB XC events in Dunedin
2nd 2006 Lakes to Sea Nelson Road Race
7th 2006 Dunedin XC MTB National Round (Expert Masters)
5th 2005 Elite men Armstrong-Prestige Christchurch City Criterium
14th 2005 Open Elite men Armstrong-Prestige 75km Harbour Ride
2nd 2005 Otago Coastal Classic MTB 65km race
13th 2005 75km Bannockburn Gut Buster
38th GC in 2006 Tour de Vineyards