Deon
Kenzie

Hailing from the Tasmanian village of Forth, Deon Kenzie has been running since the age of 12. But what began as laps around his paddock, and late-night sprints in the middle of winter with his dad following behind in his car, is now international races in some of the world’s premier sporting arenas.

Deon made his international debut at the 2013 International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France, where he won a bronze medal in the men’s 1500m T38, but it was not until December the following year, when he broke the world record on home turf in Hobart, TAS, that Australian selectors were alerted to Deon’s status as a future Paralympic champion.

He won a silver medal over 1500m at his first Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016, and his first international gold medal – in a packed-to-the-rafters stadium, as only London knows how – at the 2017 World Para-athletics Championships. At November’s 2019 World Para-athletics Championships, Deon returned to the podium with bronze in the men’s 1500m T38.

At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Deon claimed the bronze medal in the 1500m T37/38 event with a time of 4:03.76.

There is little else Deon enjoys besides running. He does, however, enjoy watching the AFL (in saying that though, there may not have been much choice in the matter – his cousins are none other than AFL stars Jade and Brady Rawlings). Deon is also a budding entrepreneur, and has recently launched his own brand of kombucha.