Born and raised in Booral, near Newcastle, NSW, Heath Francis had his right arm amputated at the age of seven after it was caught in a meat mincer on the family farm. As a child he loved playing handball with his brother.

Originally right-handed, Heath remembers the day he was discharged from hospital and beat his brother left-handed. It was at this point he realised he was not going to let his accident hold him back.

Heath first represented Australia at the 1998 IPC World Athletics Championships in Birmingham. Two years later, he competed at his first Paralympic Games in Sydney where he exceeded all expectations and won gold in the 400m. He also added two relay gold medals and a silver medal for the 200m to his debut medal collection. Heath has gone on to be one of Australia’s most consistent and successful athletes. In Athens, his personal medal tally stood at three silver and two bronze medals and at the 2006 IPC World Athletics Championships he became the first athlete to win the T46 100m/200m/400m treble.

The gold didn’t stop there. At the 2008 Beijing Games, Heath repeated his triple win with gold in the 100m, 200m and 400m. He broke two world records, one of which had stood for 16 years and also won a bronze medal in the 4x100m relay, proving his dominance in the T46 field. He describes his Beijing performances the best in his career with the 400m gold, the greatest race he’s ever had.

Heath also travelled to Delhi to compete in the T46 100m at the 2010 Commonwealth Games but unfortunately suffered an injury to his hamstring and was unable to make the final. He has recently announced his retirement from athletics and now hopes to turn his focus to advancing his professional career.