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Rising middle-distance runner Annabelle Colman has delivered Australia bronze in the final event of the Day 6 program at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, upgrading her Paralympic fourth-place finish to bring the nation’s medal tally into double figures.
A lightning delay could not stop Colman, who danced in the rain and onto the podium, winning bronze in the 1500m T20 in a time of 4:35.56.
In the race for athletes with an intellectual impairment, the emerging Australian paced herself to perfection to work her way through the field and land her first global medal at her third major championship appearance.
“It feels unbelievable,” she said. “It feels like I was running in France yesterday, but as of tonight I’m in a completely different environment in New Delhi, which is much hotter than I expected.
“It wasn’t a PB tonight, but I’m just proud that I won the bronze and gave it my best. It was sort of a secret goal I had in mind, but my coach once said to me to smile and enjoy the moment because that’s what’s more important than a medal.”
Sporting a pair of Australian coloured socks, Colman could not have been much more stylish in victory.
“It keeps me going to run in the green and gold, it’s such a good experience.”
Fellow rising star Michael Mayne made his mark on international debut with a 13-centimere personal best in the long jump T38, launching himself into medal contention with a leap of 6.33m (+1.2) early in the contest.
The 21-year-old was relegated to sixth place after all six jumps were completed and finished 20 centimetres shy of the medals but remained confident that it’s a goal he can build towards as a raw Para-athletics prospect.
“That was awesome! From talking to the senior guys, the main thing was to go out there and have fun,” Mayne said. “I have had a really good training block since Nationals and I knew I had a really good chance at a PB.
“Once I got that out of the way, I had a look at the scoreboard and thought, ‘You know what? I’ve got a chance to medal here’. It didn’t go the way I hoped after that, but I’m stoked.
“I’ve got a lot left in me! I’m looking forward to LA because if I can get it right with the board, there’s a lot to come. I’m really excited.”
Paralympian Ari Gesini (T38) bowed out of the final with a 5.90m (+0.9) leap for ninth place.
The pace proved too hot for Sam Carter as he struggled for positioning in the 1500m T54 final, with the wheelchair racer unable to recover from a slow start as he finished in 11th place with a time of 2:59.20.
Earlier in the day, sprinter James Turner (T36) kick-started his chase for global gold number 13, cruising through the heats of the 100m T36 to stop the clock in 11.94 (-1.0) as the fastest qualifier for the final.
The 2025 World Para Athletics Championships are being held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, India from September 27 – October 5.
Australian viewers can tune in live and free via the Paralympic Games YouTube channel from 1:30pm AEST.
By: Australian Athletics
Published: 3 October 2025
