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Australian Paralympic Team stars James Turner, Vanessa Low and Michael Roeger have been named among a select track and field squad to compete at the World Para Athletics Championships in Japan in May.
The World Championships is the last major competition before the Paris Paralympics and offers opportunities to secure Australia quota places for the Games.
Along with Turner, Low and Roeger will be fellow Paralympic representatives Jaryd Clifford, Samantha Schmidt, Sarah Walsh, Corey Anderson, Ari Gesini, Ella Pardy, Chad Perris, Jaydon Page, Sam Carter, Luke Bailey, Nicholas Hum and Deon Kenzie.
Turner, the reigning Paralympic and World Championship 400m T36 gold medallist, said the event in Kobe would be a useful test.
“This season in Australia has given me a lot of confidence in myself, my coach and all the support that I have around me…,” Turner said.
“Kobe is the testing ground of what I will use to prepare myself for Paris. I’d like to run well, execute a well-planned race and really set myself up so that I know that it’s all systems go when we travel to the Paralympics later this year.”
While the big guns of the Australian Para-athletics scene are set to fire, so too are emerging stars, including Sam Rizzo, who recently broke Australian legend Kurt Fearnley’s 13-year-old 1500m T54 record, and World Championships T36 sprint finalist Abby Craswell.
“It is an honour to be given the opportunity to represent Australia in the green and gold again. Having the ability to chase my dreams representing Australia on such a massive stage is a privilege,” Craswell said.
“I am there to win and run a PB, and to compete to gain further racing experience on the international stage and secure an A qualifier. Securing another spot for Australia in Paris is also a big driver of mine to do my very best.”
Athletics Australia General Manager – High Performance, Andrew Faichney, described the upcoming Championships as a ‘pivotal moment’ for athletes on the road to Paris.
“Each of these athletes selected has shown promise to either achieve medals at the Paralympic Games or contribute to our allocation of quota positions, and we have every faith in these athletes that it will further ignite the fire in their belly to compete at their best and do the country proud,” he said.
Australian Team for the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships, Kobe, Japan, starting on May 17
Men:
100m: Chad Perris (T13), Luke Bailey (T54), Jaydon Page (T47), Sam Carter (T54)
400m: James Turner (T36)
1500m: Michael Roeger (T46), Samuel Rizzo (T54), Jaryd Clifford (T12), Deon Kenzie (T38)
Long Jump: Nicholas Hum (T20), Ari Gesini (T38)
Javelin: Corey Anderson (F38), Jackson Hamilton (F13)
Women:
100m: Abby Craswell (T36), Ella Pardy (T38), Sarah Clifton-Bligh (T33)
200m: Mali Lovell (T36)
800m: Sarah Clifton-Bligh (T33, NSW)
Long Jump: Vanessa Low (T61), Sarah Walsh (T64)
Shot Put: Sarah Clifton-Bligh (F32)
Discus: Samantha Schmidt (F38)
By: David Sygall and Athletics Australia
Posted: 6 March 2024
