Angie Ballard

Switching Between Captaincy And ‘Athlete Mode’

Angie Ballard may be softly spoken but her words leave a lasting impact, as will her legacy in the Paralympic movement.

Ballard is in line to compete at her seventh Paralympic Games after making her debut in Sydney in 2000.

It hasn’t been an easy road for the wheelchair sprinter.

“There’s always something hard,” she said.

“I’ve had times where it’s been really, really hard but at least at this time in my career I know that … if you keep working through them often it leads to good things.”

Ballard found her competitive edge in wheelchair racing in 1994, five years after she was injured in a near fatal car accident as a seven-year-old.

Her parents were eager for Angie and her brother, who has spina bifida, to get involved in Para-sport and it did not take long for those around her to realise they were witnessing the rise of a Paralympic star.

Over the course of her journey, Ballard has won eight Paralympic medals and has five World Championship titles.

“The excitement and the preparation for Paris diverges,” Ballard said.

“I’ve got the captaincy and getting to watch all the team get ready and they’re excited … That’s really amazing to be a part of.

“For my own preparation, I’m more in athlete mode and just trying to think about what’s next; this week, next week and how can I keep my standards up so that when I get to Paris it’s the best result possible for me.”

But being part of the growth of Para-athletics is something the 41-year-old is most proud of and she can’t wait to share it with the rest of the team later this year.

“What I love about what we do is that our job is to find our limits. There are challenges, there’s boundaries and there’s not enough resources, but there’s also opportunities to figure out how to break through that.

“You don’t get to choose your hard but you still have to do it.”