Record-Breakers, Change-Makers: Australian Paralympic Team Finalised For Paris 2024

The compelling stories of 160 athletes across 17 sports will form the next chapter of Australia’s vibrant Paralympic story at the Paris Paralympic Games, starting on August 28.

The 2024 Australian team, co-captained by eight-time Paralympic medallist in athletics Angie Ballard and triple gold medallist in Para-canoe Curtis McGrath, features record-breakers and change-makers.

Among them are track and field star Madison de Rozario and swimming favourite Brenden Hall, who will carry the Australian flag down the Champs-Elysées at the Opening Ceremony, igniting 11 days of elite sporting competition at the world’s greatest celebration of diversity and inclusion.

The Australian team is brimming with the experience of a combined 196 Paralympic Games appearances, including 11 appearances for other nations. Table tennis player Danni Di Toro will compete at her eighth Games, placing her equal-second only to Libby Kosmala (12) as Australia’s most enduring Paralympian.

Ballard comes next with seven Games and five athletes will compete at their sixth Paralympic Games.

The team is 56 percent male and 44 percent female, 61 athletes (38 percent) will make their Paralympic debut, and the average age of the Australian athletes in Paris will be 31.3 years, about a year older than the average age in Tokyo.

The team includes four athletes who are Indigenous: Samantha Schmidt (athletics), Ruby Storm (swimming), Amanda Reid (cycling) and Telaya Blacksmith (athletics). It is the equal highest number of Indigenous athletes to feature on an Australian Paralympic Team since Warren Lawton (goalball), Donna Burns (basketball), Karl Feifar (athletics) and Tracy Barrell (swimming) competed at the 1992 Paralympics.

Australian Paralympic Team Chef de Mission Kate McLoughlin said:

“I want to acknowledge the vast amount of work that has gone into bringing this amazing Australian Paralympic Team together.

“This is a team that all Australians can get behind. They are incredible athletes, exceptional human beings and a wonderful example of what can be achieved with determination and resilience.

“A lot of the team delivery work was undertaken by some of the best operators in their field in the world. Others produced a huge amount of grunt work that was absolutely essential to this campaign.

“This team has taken years to assemble and I hope everyone who has played a part in supporting and developing our athletes feels a great sense of pride when they see them representing Australia in Paris. This team is ready and raring to compete on the biggest stage of all and make all Australians proud.”

Among Australia’s 17 sports are numerous highlights:

• The 12-player table tennis squad is Australia’s largest since 1968 and the second largest ever to represent the nation in the Paralympic foundation sport. It features reigning gold medallists Qian Yang and Lina Lei, and Melissa Tapper, who will compete at her fourth Paralympic Games having just competed at her third Olympic Games.
• Australia’s archery squad of six is the largest in 40 years and includes Jonathon Milne, Australia’s only Paralympic medallist in the sport since 1984.
• Australia’s triathlon squad of 13 athletes is the largest since the sport was introduced at Rio 2016. It is headlined by multiple world champion Lauren Parker, who will also compete in cycling. In doing so, Parker will become the first Australian to compete in two sports at one Paralympics in 32 years after Jodi Willis-Roberts (athletics and goalball) and Kieran Modra (athletics and swimming) achieved the feat at Barcelona 1992.
• Triathlete Tom Goodman’s sister Molly was a member of the Australian Olympic Team in rowing, making them the first sibling combination to represent Australia at the Paralympic and Olympic Games.
• Brothers Chad and Kane Perris will become the first siblings to represent Australia at the Paralympic Games since Brett and Mark Scarr competed in goalball for Australia at Barcelona 1992. Chad will compete at his third Games in athletics, while Kane will make his Paralympic debut in cycling.
• Powerlifters Hani Watson and Ben Wright will become Australia’s first Paralympians in the sport since London 2012.
• The world champion Australian Steelers wheelchair rugby team features a record three women in its 12-player squad: Shae Graham, Emilie Miller and Ella Sabljak.
• Taylor Gosens will become just our second female Paralympic judoka after Desiree Allan competed at Athens 2004. Also, according to Paralympics Australia’s records, Gosens and her father Gerrard Gosens (goalball and athletics between 1996 and 2008) will become Australia’s first father-daughter Paralympians.
• The 30-strong swimming squad includes the Australian Paralympic Team’s youngest female and male athletes for Paris 2024. Holly Warn will be 15 years and five months at the Opening Ceremony and Callum Simpson will be 17 years and four months.
• Australia’s boccia team enters the Games in the unprecedented position of world No.1 in BC3 individual (Dan Michel) and world No.1 in BC3 pairs (Dan Michel and Jamieson Leeson).
• Australia’s men’s wheelchair basketball team, the Rollers, includes six Paralympic first timers under the leadership of six-time Paralympians, captain Tristan Knowles and Shaun Norris.
• Also competing at their sixth Paralympics are wheelchair rugby star Ryley Batt, wheelchair tennis player Ben Weekes and table tennis player Lina Lei, who competed for China at four Games.
• The other team members who have represented other nations are table tennis players Lin Ma (China) and Qian Yang (China), and Vanessa Low, who competed for Germany in athletics.
• Cyclist Jessica Gallagher will compete at her fifth Paralympics, which includes two appearances for Australia at the Paralympic Winter Games. Gallagher also competed in athletics at London 2012.

2024 Australian Paralympic Team – Fast Facts:

• Australia will be represented by 160 athletes: 152 athletes with an impairment, two athletics guides, two boccia ramp operators, two cycling pilots, one triathlon guide and one rowing coxswain. They will be supported by 198 staff, including two handlers for triathlon.
• Australia will compete in 17 of the 22 sports.
• 61 athletes (38.2 percent) will make their Paralympic debut.
• 90 athletes (56.25 percent) on the team are male and 70 (43.75 percent) are female.
• The average age of athletes on the Australian Paralympic Team in Paris will be 31.3 years (30.1 years in Tokyo 2020).
• The average age of the male athletes is 31.4 years and the average age of the female athletes is 31.2 years.
• 27 team members (16.8 percent) were born overseas, from eight different countries.
• 54 (36 percent) of the athletes were identified or supported via Paralympics Australia’s Talent and Pathway initiatives.
• Paris debutant Telaya Blacksmith (athletics) is set to become Australia’s 16th known Indigenous Paralympian. At the first Paralympic Games, in Rome in 1960, Kevin Coombs became Australia’s first Indigenous Paralympian or Olympian.
• Three athletes have transitioned from other sports since Tokyo 2020: Amanda Jennings (archery) represented Australia in canoe at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, Samuel Harding (triathlon) represented Australia in athletics at Tokyo 2020 and Ella Sabljak (wheelchair rugby) represented Australia in wheelchair basketball at Tokyo 2020.
• Before competing in their current sports for Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, both Danni Di Toro (wheelchair tennis at five Paralympics from 1996 to 2008) and Amanda Reid (swimming in 2012) competed in another sport at past Games. Jessica Gallagher competed at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Paralympic Games, the 2012 Paralympics in athletics and the Rio 2016 Paralympics in cycling. She missed selection for Tokyo 2020.

Athletes By State (current place of residence):

Australia’s most experienced Paralympians in Paris:

• Table tennis player Danni Di Toro will compete at her eighth Paralympic Games, equal-second on the all-time Australian list, behind Libby Kosmala (12).
• Co-captain Angela Ballard (athletics) will attend her seventh Paralympic Games.
• Five athletes will compete at their sixth Games – Ryley Batt (wheelchair rugby), Lina Lei (table tennis – including four times for China), Tristan Knowles (wheelchair basketball), Shaun Norris (wheelchair basketball) and Ben Weekes (wheelchair tennis).
• Five athletes will compete at their fifth Paralympic Games – both Opening Ceremony flag bearers Madison de Rozario (athletics) and Brenden Hall (swimming), Jessica Gallagher (cycling – including two appearances in both summer and winter Games), Michael Roeger (athletics) and Lin Ma (table tennis – including three times for China).
• There are 13 athletes attending their fourth Paralympic Games, including Vanessa Low (athletics – who competed for Germany twice) and Qian Yang (table tennis – who competed for China twice).
• There are 31 athletes going to their third Paralympic Games and 37 going to their second Paralympic Games.

Australian Team Facts – Behind The Scenes:

• Over 30,000 items will clothe the Australian Paralympic Team.
• 350 Team members will visit Paralympics Australia’s Uniform Distribution Centre in Paris.
• Over 7000 Pins have been provided.
• Four containers were sea freighted and 20 pallets air freighted.
• 61 personal wheelchairs will be flown to Paris, as well as 38 sport-competition chairs and five SmartDrive power assist devices to support wheelchair users
• Two entire Café set-ups were shipped – one for the Athlete Village and one for the team’s out-of-village base.
• 57 bicycles, handcycles and tandems will be transported, as well as three throwing frames for track and field.
• Medical support equipment includes seven shower chairs and one hoist.
• Paralympics Australia processed 228 athletes and 217 staff/officials, across 22 sessions in six states and territories, capturing biographical data and uniform sizes.
• Four site visits were undertaken by Paralympics Australia staff and other key personnel.
• 300 shuttle trips will be undertaken between the Paralympic Village, the out-of-village hotel and Paralympics Australia’s Uniform Distribution Centre.

Australia at the Paralympic Games:

• Australia has competed at every Paralympic Games since the first in Rome in 1960.
• After finishing in first place on the medal table at Sydney 2000, Australia finished fifth at each of the next four Games, and eighth at Tokyo 2020.
• Prior to Paris, Australia had produced 1,126 Paralympians. They had won 1,272 medals – 1,237 at the Summer Games and 35 at the Winter Games.
• Australia finished in the top seven nations on the gold medal tally at the first three Summer Games, however finished outside the top 10 in 1972, 1976 and 1980. Australia reclaimed a top 10 position in 1984 and has not finished outside the top 10 since.

By: David Sygall, Paralympics Australia

Published: 8 August 2024