When Ari Gesini made his senior World Championships debut last November, his dream of representing Australia at the Paralympic Games had never felt more real.

Representing Australia for the first time at the 2017 World Para-athletics Junior Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland, Ari put the world on notice with a gold medal in the long jump F35-38.

He reaffirmed his status as one to watch in the lead-up to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in 2019 – first at the Arafura Games in April and May, where he won a gold and bronze medal, and again at November’s World Para-athletics Championships, where he set three personal bests on his way to fourth place in the men’s long jump T38 – his first major final.

However, even after experiencing such success so early in his career, Ari is under no illusion about what it takes to do the same at the Paralympic …

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Date of birth
23 December 2001
Sport
Para-athletics
Past Paralympic Games

Tokyo 2020

Impairment
Physical Impairment – Left hemiplegic cerebral palsy
How acquired
Congenital
Residence
Canberra, ACT
Occupation
Student
Started competing
2007
First competed for Australia
2019
Sport career highlights

Winning a gold medal in the long jump F35-38 at the 2017 World Para-athletics Junior Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland

Greatest sporting moments

Usain Bolt winning the men’s 100m final at the London 2012 Olympic Games

Heroes/role models

His parents

Favourite quote
Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground - Theodore Roosevelt

Disciplines

  • Sport: Para-athletics Discipline: 100m Classification: T38
  • Sport: Para-athletics Discipline: Long jump Classification: T38

Social Media

  • instagram