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Reece LangdonEVENTS: Men's T38 1500m AGE: 27 (DOB 22 Feb 1996) COACH: Tim O'Shaughessy STATE: VIC AUSTRALIAN TEAM DEBUT: 2023 World Para Athletics Championships PERSONAL BEST: 1500m 3:52.80 (2022) |
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BIOGRAPHYRunning to the letterbox was how Reece Langdon started his interesting journey in athletics. Aged 9, Reece didn’t live on a suburban quarter-acre block, but a farm in Goulburn and the distance to the letterbox was about 2km. Around then he started competing at school. “I discovered I really enjoyed athletics carnivals and cross country at school,” recalled Reece. He moved to Canberra in year 10 and one day asked his dad to drop him off at the AIS track. He found he enjoyed middle distance events and in 2016 moved to Dick Telford’s squad where his milage went from 30 to 160km/week. At the National championships in April 2023, he raced a trio of very talented Aussie T38 metric milers. Reece was able to take gold ahead of Angus Hincksman and Deon Kenzie. In June 2023 he was named in his first Australian team, where he will compete at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships. Impairment: In December 2002 (age 6) he started getting severe headaches, so his parents took him to hospital. He soon lost his ability to talk and walk and became almost completely paralysed. They discovered he had severe streptococcal which led to a virus, which attacked his cerebellum. He was diagnosed with cerebellitis. He gradually relearnt how to walk and talk, but was left with permanent ataxia, coordination impairment, temperature regulation issues, and general weakness on the left side of his body…Hero: “My Nan (who passed away in 2019) will always be a huge source of inspiration for me. She was so passionate and supportive of my running. I actually lived with her when I was 15 and 16 and she taught me so many things, especially kindness. We did everything together - shopping, cooking, watching sport on TV and gardening. And we used to have talks about me one day running for Australia - I always felt like she truly believed I’d make it as a runner. I’m sad she won’t be able to watch me race in Paris this year, but I will be thinking of her…Most influential person in your career: Matt Beckenham – he gave me a shot when he didn’t even know who I was…Advice to your young self: Sometimes less is more. This has been a hard lesson to learn in relation to my training…Hobbies: running podcasts, finding new coffee spots, and watching soccer…Sporting ambition: To become world champion and Paralympic champion and to help the paralympic movement grow for the next generation of para athletes…Interesting facts: has a plant-based diet since late 2019… Biggest challenge you've faced: 22 weeks off running twice fracturing a sacral stress fracture. It was really tough on his mental health and taught him an important lesson ‘less is sometimes more’. @ 19 June 2023 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au
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