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Fresh from her two gold medals at Tokyo 2020, Australian Paralympic Team star Madison de Rozario is gearing up for the iconic Oz Day 10k, where she is hoping to claim the title for the sixth year in a row.
The race on Wednesday will be the 33rd consecutive year of the annual event, which consists of three 3.33km laps around The Rocks in Sydney. It’s the finale of the Summer Down Under Series and includes a combination of world-class champions and emerging athletes. The Oz Day 10k first took place in 1990 and was started by wheelchair racers Peter Trotter and Jeff Wiseman with the aim of showcasing elite wheelchair athletes to children with a disability.
“At the heart of this series is showing younger athletes what the end result can look like, which isn’t an opportunity that many kids with a disability get,” de Rozario said.
“It’s one of the only events in the world where you see junior athletes out there with Paralympians on the same course and on the same start grid, which is just an amazing experience.
“On Monday morning we had a mentor clinic where junior athletes could meet with elite Paralympic athletes and have one-on-one time with them. While I’m very much looking forward to racing on Wednesday, I do remember the impact that this event and the series had on me as a 14-year-old.”
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De Rozario, now 28, competed in the race for the first time in 2008 and has only missed one since.
“This is where I started and I have so many fond memories of this race. This was the event where I fell in love with sport,” she said.
The Perth-born wheelchair racer will compete after an immensely successful 2021, which was highlighted by gold in the 800m T3 and the Marathon T54 at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. She ended her year on a high by making history as the first Australian woman to win the New York City Marathon. She says she is excited to be back racing on home soil, despite the race being billed as one of the most technical courses in the world.
“It’s three laps with tricky hairpin turns, some rough roads and some really narrow parts. But there is nothing like racing at home. I love being surrounded by the Australian crowd. I think we have the most amazing supporters.”
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Fellow Paralympian Jake Lappin is on the quest for a second consecutive win after taking out the men’s division title for the first-time last year.
“It should be really good, and it should be more of a race this year,” Lappin said.
“The course is pretty technical but it’s still a great course – long stretches of road. My focus is going to be to start off hard and to break away from whoever I can.
“This year has been really good so far – I’ve had some more racing opportunities which have been really fun. I’m really looking forward to racing on Wednesday.”
Australian Paralympian Rheed McCracken has also been flagged as a leading contender, as he will be making his 12th appearance at the race.
The Oz Day 10k will take place Wednesday January 26 from 9am to 10am.
By: Lucy Hunt, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 25 January 2022
