A strong Australian team of 179 athletes, our largest team for a games held overseas, is set to compete at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
The City of Sydney is a proud sponsor of the team, providing $60,000 towards the travel and accommodation. We encourage everyone to show their support and help cheer them on.
Para-swimmer gold medallist Tiffany Thomas Kane said, “I’m proud to call Sydney home, and to know that my hometown is behind me 100% makes all the hard work leading into Tokyo worthwhile.”
The Paralympic Games is the pinnacle of sport for athletes with disability. The Australian team is competing in 18 of the 22 sports, from wheelchair basketball to para-rowing and para-triathlon.
In July, we were thrilled to have 2 of our Paralympians, Ryley Batt and Ella Sabljak take part in a virtual event with kids at our Alexandria Child Care Centre.
The kids got to ask questions like ‘how does it feel to win a gold medal?’ and ‘what made you want to be a Paralympian?’
After the event, they made drawings and wrote good luck messages to send to the Australian team.
The Paralympic Games, and community events like these, help change community perceptions of people with disability.
It wasn’t until a similar event where he met a former Paralympian, that gold medallist Ryley Batt was prompted to start his wheelchair rugby journey.
Ella Sabljak, a member of our Australian wheelchair basketball team (the Gliders) said, “I’m very excited to get over to Tokyo and represent our country at the highest level.
It’s been a dream of mine to compete at the Paralympic Games alongside my teammates since I was in primary school, and I can’t believe it’s finally here.
On Saturday 25 September, we’ll be hosting an online Paralympics Wikipedia edit-a-thon.
Presented by 3-time Paralympian medallist Sarah Stewart, the event aims to increase the diversity of voices documenting Australian Paralympic history.
It will also improve Wikipedia content about Paralympians and the Paralympic Games. Register to take part in this exciting event.
Published 23 August 2021, updated 6 September 2021
