Eithen Leard had an unforgettable taste of the big stage at Paris 2024, playing to sell-out crowds at a raucous Bercy Arena.
Now, with the countdown to the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games reaching the seven-years-to-go milestone, the Australian Rollers wheelchair basketball player is renewing his commitment to being part of the Australian Paralympic Team at our Home Games in south-east Queensland.
The 19-year-old from Brisbane was left out of the Rollers side that’s currently touring Europe, but it has only strengthened his resolve to regain his place in the team in the flagship Paralympic sport.
“I tell myself it’s going to happen,” Leard said of his goal to compete at Brisbane 2032.
“It’s about wanting to be the best that I can be. Ups and downs are part of it, but I think being the best that I can be for as long as I can is the overall goal.
“Brisbane will be an amazing event for people with a disability, but also for all Australians. All eyes will be on Australia.
“I remember in Paris, I’d always scan the crowd to try and find my girlfriend, my mum and my dad and my sister as well. It would be so cool playing in Brisbane, scanning the crowd and finding people that I know.”
Leard is one of several Australian Paralympic Team athletes from Paris 2024 who are on track to be in the prime of their sporting careers in seven years’ time, such as Para-athletics star Telaya Blacksmith, who became Australia’s 16th known Indigenous Paralympian at the latest Games.
Triathlete Grace Brimelow, boccia star Jamieson Leeson, wheelchair rugby player Brayden Foxley-Conolly and Para-rower Toby Goffsassen are among the others, while a whole new generation of Para-athletes has an opportunity to experience the rare privilege of competing at the pinnacle event on home soil.
Australian Paralympic Team co-captain at Paris 2024 Curtis McGrath almost certainly won’t be there as an athlete. But McGrath, now a Paralympics Australia board member, is using his position and knowledge to help drive the best outcomes on and off the sporting field at Brisbane 2032.
“Seven years to go is a significant milestone, given this is the time Sydney was given before the Games were staged there (in 2000),” McGrath said.
“Seeing how far we’ve come already is amazing. There’s a whole lot of work to be done still, so it’s good to have this milestone upon us and also looking forward to seeing how we build momentum given the time we have left.”
McGrath, who has won four gold medals in Para-canoe over the three past Paralympic Games, said it was nice to be still in the fray of possibly competing at the Los Angeles Paralympics in 2028. However, he said, he is very busy now advocating for Paralympic values through his work at Deloitte and “beyond that, just doing a lot of speaking engagements and getting a lot of questions around raising the awareness of the Games and the Paralympic Movement”.
Among McGrath’s recent engagements was joining a roundtable meeting with the Federal Minister for Sport Anika Wells at Paralympics Australia’s Brisbane office.
“It was a big picture discussion,” McGrath said.
“It’s great to see that the Federal Government’s so interested in what we’re doing and how we’re making the lives of people with disabilities better through sport. Minister Wells is a great advocate for our Movement.
“I think it keeps us accountable, making sure we’re producing programs and initiatives that can influence the legacy of the Paralympic Games and making sure that our Movement is sustainable in the future.
“Everyone’s talking about what’s going on in Brisbane and Southeast Queensland and really looking forward to seeing what is produced both in building programs and in helping develop athletes.
“It’s important to make sure we’re out there looking at every way to get more athletes into our amazing Paralympic team, representing Australia, not just in Brisbane but in LA and the French Alps and beyond. It’s an exciting time for our Movement.”
By David Sygall, Paralympics Australia.
Published Sunday, 22 August, 2025.
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