Paralympic Sprinters Enter Final Straight

A group of Australia’s top Paralympic sprinters and long jumpers are completing their final preparations ahead of this year’s Tokyo Games, lifted by a high-performance training camp on the Gold Coast.

Five-time Paralympic gold medalist Evan O’Hanlon (100m T38) and reigning Paralympic champions Scott Reardon (100m T63) and James Turner (now 100m & 400m T36) have been fine tuning their preparations, along with fan-favourite Chad Perris (100m T13) and rising stars Alissa Jordaan (400m T47), Ari Gesini (long jump T38) and Jaydon Page (100m T47).  

The accomplished group are training under the watchful eyes of esteemed coaches Iryna Dvoskina and Sebastian Kuzminski, with Dvoskina declaring the purpose of the camp is simple.

“We are working on preparations for Tokyo,” she said.

“I have different athletes with different disabilities but absolutely every one of my athletes has strategies. ”

For a coach of Dvoskina’s calibre, it comes as no surprise that the task is considered “simple” – but such analysis downplays her involvement in their success.

The Ukranian-born coach has played an integral role in constructing a high-performance pathway for Paralympic sprinters within Australia, collecting 63 Paralympic, World Championship and Commonwealth Games medals since moving to Australia in 2003.

The Canberra-based squad are among Australia’s top Paralympic medal contenders for this year’s Games, with this camp an opportunity to refine their craft throughout over the course of three weeks, while testing themselves with regular competitions.

The Oceania Athletics Invitational Series this month provided two opportunities for athletes to execute the skills learnt in training in a race environment, with Reardon relishing the opportunity to compete at the meets and prepare at the sprints and jumps camp, supported by the City of Gold Coast.

“It’s been a good meet here and we have some really good athletes pulling out the big things before the Olympics and Paralympics. The City of Gold Coast needs to be commended for putting something on with such short notice,” he said.

Dvoskina and Kuzminski’s squad, which also includes Paralympic gold medallist Vanessa Low, are likely to bring home a bag of Paralympic medals in events ranging from 100m-400m and long jump once again in 2021, but Dvoskina says the medals are only a small part of a much bigger picture.

“These medals came from this environment because I could bring young athletes from school and they could learn how to become high performance athletes,” she said. 

“I never think about how many medals I will have - it doesn’t matter. The most important thing is to show people what we can do.”

The group share a unique bond in that they have spent years on end working to redefine the standard for Para-athletics both home and abroad – shattering national records and dominating international competitions along the way.

But Dvoskina says the rewards come purely as a product of hard work, not talent.

“Average athletes challenge my knowledge and thinking, making me think outside the box and in a different way,” she said.

“A good coach to me can put an average athlete on the podium and repeat it generation after generation.”

The Para Sprints and Jumps camp has been proudly supported by the City of Gold Coast.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 22/6/2021