Para-rowing
It would come as a surprise to most that Para-rower Jed Altschwager did very little in the way of exercise before entering the world of Para-sport.
Read MoreThere were few more satisfied athletes on the Paris 2024 Australian Paralympic Team than Jed Altschwager and his crewmate in the mixed double scull PR3 Nikki Ayers. Understandably so!
Once the mixed double was announced on the Paralympic Games program, Jed and Nikki joined forces and quickly established themselves on the world stage. World Championship victory in Belgrade in 2023 was followed by their naming as World Rowing Para Crew of the Year. Paralympic gold was the last piece of the puzzle and on the waters of Vaires-sur-Marne they powered to a famous win. It was Australia’s first Paralympic rowing gold medal.
It was a full circle moment for Jed for whom sport became an important recovery tool after a workplace accident in which an excavator crushed his left foot, leading to amputation.
In 2016 Jed was approached by Paralympics Australia’s Talent Identification Manager and three-time Paralympian Tim Matthews, who had seen a video of him using a rowing machine and recognised his potential.
Jed made his international debut at the 2018 World Championships in Bulgaria, where he won a silver medal with James Talbot, and returned to international waters for the 2019 World Championships in Austria to defend his silver medal, this time with Will Smith (not that Will Smith).
The addition of the mixed double for Paris brought rowing friends Jed and Nikki together and the pair formed a formidable team.
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