All-class Clarke ready for Paris Paralympics

Stade de France will be the next battle ground for Western Australia's Rhiannon Clarke as she looks to claim her maiden Paralympic medal in less than a week's time in Paris. 

The three-time World Para Athletics Championships medallist has been a stalwart of the Australian team since 2018 and has come full circle to lead the contingent in the City of Lights. Reflecting on her journey, Clarke admits she spent many years growing up ‘embarrassed by her disability and with the fear of not fitting in’, so she tried to hide it.  

Now, a fierce advocate, Clarke is ready to walk out of the shadows and has made it her mission to encourage the next generation of athletes with disabilities. Crediting her first ever roommate, 2024 Paris Flagbearer Madison de Rozario, Clarke is ready to use her visibility to champion para-sport.  

“They really showed me it’s something I shouldn’t be hiding away from, it’s something that I have, and I should be proud of it.”  

“This year and the past few years I have become a lot more passionate about advocating for para-athletes and getting us as much representation as possible.” 

And represent she has. Working with Paralympics Australia and their sponsors, Clarke has been eager to throw her name in the ring and engage media to support para-athletes across the country. 

“If you had told me 10 years ago when I started athletics that I would have a mural in the city, I would never have believed you," Clarke said. 

Just as inspiring on the track, the T38 sprinter holds eight Australian Records, including the Open Para Women’s T38 100m record. Reinforcing her potential of a Paris podium, Clarke recently shaved 0.12 seconds off her personal best when she ran 12.79 at a pre-departure competition in Perth.   

Her 100m result is another milestone for the World Championships medallist whose career has found a range of achievements since Tokyo. 

At the domestic level she became the first open female athlete, para or able-bodied, to claim three Open titles at the Australian Athletics Championships - an accomplishment she has achieved twice, once in 2023 and again in 2024. In 2022 she won bronze in the Open Para Women’s T38 100m at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, then backed it up a year later claiming silver in the Open Para Women’s T38 400m at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris.   

Returning to Paris in 2024 for the Paris Paralympics, Clarke will look to once again claim a podium when she lines up in Stade de France for the Open Para Women’s T38 100m and 400m.  

“I have learnt to really kind of just trust the process and trust the training, trust my coach and everything kind has been coming together more this year which has been great.” 

“I think this year the difference going into these games is that I am putting myself out there more and showing the world more about para-athletics and about myself.” 

By Imogen McDonald and David Smith for Athletics West
Posted: 25/8/2024