Weightlifter Caroline Pileggi (b. 1977) represented Australia at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and went on to win three medals - a gold and two silvers - at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in the Women's Over-75kg class. Her career took a body blow in 2004, when the Australian Sports Drug Agency found her guilty of refusing to submit to a drugs test. Pileggi appealed against her omission, claiming the drug testers didn't follow protocols as they did not inform her she was required to take a test. She was however handed a two-year ban from the sport - a punishment that saw her removed from the Athens Olympics. Pileggi is currently considering whether she will resume training and return to her sport later this year.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006
© Toni Wilkinson
Toni Wilkinson (5 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves: who we read, who we watch, who we listen to, who we cheer for, who we aspire to be, and who we'll never forget. The Companion is available to buy online and in the Portrait Gallery Store.
Michael Desmond explores what makes a portrait subject significant.
The exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus offers various interpretations of sporting men and women by five Australian photographers.
