Summer Down Under | Lappin and de Rozario Lead the way at National Championships

Hosted in conjunction with Wheelchair Sports New South Wales’ Summer Down Under Series, the Australian Open Wheelchair Championships from 200m to 5000m delivered a three-day showcase of wheelchair racing at the Australian Institute of Sport.

Headlined by Paralympic stars Madison de Rozario (Louise Sauvage) and Jake Lappin (Fred Periac) who went undefeated en route to five national titles between them, the weekend provided a unique opportunity for emerging para athletes to witness and race against the nation’s leading names in national title bouts.

Strong results across the board set the tone for an exciting year for Australian wheelchair racers who make their next stop at the esteemed Oz Day 10k in Sydney this Thursday, and for some will culminate in the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris this July.  

Two-time Paralympian Lappin flexed his form with three gold medals at the National Championships, winning the 800m, 1500m and 5000m in quality fields. On paper, the 30-year-old’s best performance of the weekend came in the 1500m where he scorched to a time of 3:05.83 and a score of 92.47% - with less than three seconds separating the first four competitors. Sam Rizzo (Richard Coleman) and Sam Carter (Fred Periac) clinched silver and bronze respectively with showings of 3:06.56 and 3:06.96.

Tokyo Paralympian Luke Bailey (Andrew Dawes) challenged Lappin in the 800m in another tight contest where the top four were split by under two seconds, bettering his fourth in the 1500m with silver behind the seasoned veteran Lappin who clocked 1:39.68 for 89.95%. Lappin then completed the triple with glory in the 5000m when defeating Rizzo, with the emerging Cormac Ryan (Louise Sauvage) impressing for bronze.

de Rozario went untroubled in her two appearances on the track when cruising to victory in the 800m and 5000m – hardly surprising for the Paralympic and world champion. The 29-year-old edged out Japan’s Momoka Muraoka for line honours in the 800m with a time of 1:58.46, also taking gold with a score of 89.08% over teammate and 1500m champion Sarah Clifton-Bligh (Louise Sauvage) with 88.15%. de Rozario’s 5000m encounter was largely a time trial as the only Australian in the race, clocking 13:13.38 for 80.47%.

National 200m titles were earned by Sam McIntosh (Fred Periac) and Aimee Fisher (Andrew Dawes) with respective performances of 36.79 (81.60%) and 34.42 (79.95%).

The next stop of the GIO Summer Down Under Series is Thursday’s Oz Day 10k at The Rocks in Sydney, a world-renowned race featuring more than 30 local and international athletes, from Paralympians to juniors battling it out on a super tight and technical course that will push them to their limits.

Full results can be found HERE.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 23/1/2023