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When Kane Perris switched his phone back on after making his Paralympic Games debut at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome south-west of Paris, the first message he saw simply said, ‘proud of you mate, Sunday’s the big day’.
That message was from his brother Chad, who had watched the performance from the Paralympic Athlete’s Village where he is based ahead of racing in the 100m at his third Paralympic Games.
“Having Chad by my side and sharing this experience with him has been something that we’ve dreamed of for a long time, and now it’s a reality,” said Kane after chatting on the phone with Chad.
“Having that opportunity to have a debrief with somebody who’s as experienced as him is just incredible for me and I’m very, very grateful for that.”
On the tandem, Perris and pilot Luke Zaccaria are in Paris primarily to race the 1000m time trial on Sunday but took advantage of the chance to post a time in the B 4000m tandem pursuit qualifying to help get comfortable with the venue and atmosphere.
The pair went hard in the first 500 metres before easing off to focus on being smooth on the pedalling and getting through the four kilometres.
“I think for me in my first Paralympics, the nerves were definitely there but I think that if the nerves weren’t present, there would be a big issue,” Kane said.
“When I first got there, I felt the energy of the crowd, it was super loud, but as I started warming up, I started to embrace it and feel the energy of the music and the bass was pumping through my whole body.
“I think some people might look at that and be a little bit overwhelmed but for me it’s great to have 6,000 people screaming at you,” said Kane, who like Chad has albinism that impacts his vision.
“I was really confident getting up onto the bike and we went out there, we executed the plan and we did what we needed to do as a little bit of a hit-out and warm up for Sunday, which is our big event.”
It was a long road to Paris for Kane whose hopes of selection for Tokyo were dashed due to a back injury. Then on debut at the world championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in March a crash left him with a shoulder injury, three broken ribs, and a punctured lung.
Watch the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on the 9Network and 9Now live and free, and on Stan Sport from August 28 to September 8.
By Gennie Sheer, Paralympics Australia
Published: 29 August 2024
