The gold medal winning wheelchair track and road athlete admits expectations have changed over the years since her first Paralympic games appearance in 2008 in Beijing as a 14-year-old.
“It’s just a matter of seeing what happens on the day, when I line up for the 800,” the Sydney Olympic Park resident said.
“Four of us will have previously held the world record in the past two years, so it’s a strong field and hard to really set specific goals.”
Naming the first 10 athletes who will represent Australia at the rescheduled Tokyo event, Paralympics Australia’s chief executive officer Lynne Anderson said they were a “stellar group” and set a really high standard for the rest of the team announcements still to come.
“The message is clear: we’re in full swing for Tokyo and we’ll be aiming to win,” she said.
Australian Team Chef de Mission Kate McLoughlin added that being able to announce a mix of experienced and first time Paralympians was an important moment.
“These athletes have certainly earned their spots. They’ve achieved an automatic qualification through their results at the 2019 World Para-Athletics Championships,” she said.
“It’s hugely significant to finally be able to announce the first group of athletes on the 2020 Team. The last six months have been challenging for everybody. We now have 12 months to go and have a fantastic piece of good news to focus on.”
