Tamsin Colley

Every day millions of young Australians dream of representing their country. Two days after Tamsin Colley turned 14, she did just that.

There was a time when Tamsin did not think she would be going to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, but in a happy twist of fate, when the International Paralympic Committee voted to ban the Russian Paralympic Team from the Games, there was room for four more on the Australian Para-athletics team, and Tamsin was their girl.

In Rio, Tamsin contested the women’s 200m T36. She featured in the second heat alongside Shi Yiting (CHN) and Jeon Min-jae (KOR), who would go onto win the gold and silver medal, and was running well, but in a devastating turn of events, tripped on the home straight. She found her feet but was unable to make up crucial seconds and finished in last place.

Tamsin represented Australia for the second time at the 2017 World Para-athletics Junior Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland, where she won a pair of silver medals, so by the time the 2019 World Para-athletics Championships rolled around last November, she was virtually a veteran. Setting a new personal best of 31.77 in her heat of the women’s 200m T36, she took one step closer towards her goal of winning a Paralympic gold medal, booking a place in her first major final.

Off the track, Tamsin is equally impressive. In 2017, she organised the inaugural Eastern Suburbs Special Needs Athletics Carnival, for which she was nominated for a Pride of Australia Award. She said she hoped the Carnival would encourage other young Para-athletes to chase their dreams – just like she did.