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Wheelchair racer on a mission in the fast lane

New Zealand hasn’t had a wheelchair racer at the Paralympics in more than 20 years. Christchurch athlete Sarah James is determined to change that, writes

Brendon Egan.

Three records and meeting her coach in person for the first time – Sarah James’ first international wheelchair racing experience couldn’t have gone much better.

The Christchurch para athlete delivered quite the statement at the Summer Down Under Series in Canberra last weekend – featuring some of the world’s top wheelchair racers.

New Zealand has not had a wheelchair racer at the Paralympics since Ben Lucas and Gavin Foulsham competed at the 2000 Games in Sydney.

Eighteen-year-old James, who was born with spina bifida, has aspirations to end that drought.

Next year’s Paris Paralympics will be too soon, but she has her sights set on Los Angeles 2028 when she should be at her prime in the sport.

The last New Zealand wheelchair racers to win medals at the Paralympics were Cristeen Smith (women’s 200m T51 gold and 800m T51 silver) and Jeff Muralt (T53 400m bronze) both at Atlanta in 1996.

James made quite the impression in Canberra on her bright pink Top End customised wheelchair, which she received last year and retailed for about $8000.

She broke three national under20 women’s records in the T53 class (full use of arms, but no or limited trunk function) – all personal bests.

In her favoured 100m event, she achieved a record time of 20.04 seconds in the final. Her other records came in the 200m (38.77sec) and 400m (1min 14.27sec).

‘‘They have said the track is pretty fast, so I was pretty hopeful to get some good times, but I was quite surprised to do them in every event,’’ James said.

The Canberra event was also her first opportunity to meet Perthbased coach Blanche Herbert in person after two years working together.

South African native Herbert has coached wheelchair racing since 1992 and previously mentored former leading Kiwi racer Matthew Lack when she lived in New Zealand.

Herbert linked with James two years ago during the pandemic and has been coaching her through Zoom video sessions while training on her roller.

‘‘It has been absolutely beautiful to meet her face to face so I can see what she’s doing and then when I go back to Perth and she goes back to New Zealand, I know what areas she needs to work on,’’ Herbert said.

‘‘Just a fantastic effort from her. This year we were training online and now this outcome.’’

James grew up in Masterton before her family shifted to Christchurch when she was eight. She started out in swimming, but discovered wheelchair racing five years ago and hasn’t looked back – competing for the New Brighton club.

‘‘I just wanted to try something new. I wanted to do something which was quite fast and I can go fast in.’’

She will look to follow up her encouraging results from the Summer Down Under Series at the Athletics ACT under-20 and open championships in Canberra this weekend.

Getting below 20 seconds in her favoured 100m event would be another milestone, which she was agonisingly close to doing.

China’s Huang Lisha holds the T53 women’s 100m Paralympic and world record with a time of 16.19sec achieved at Rio 2016. At the Tokyo 2020 Games another Chinese athlete, Gao Fang, won the T53 women’s 100m gold in 16.29sec.

Herbert described James as a dedicated trainer, who had a bright future in the sport.

‘‘She’s calm. At the start line she never hesitates or anything like that. She’s consistent and has a great work ethic and is great to work with as an athlete.’’

Getting off to a strong start in wheelchair racing was critical with Herbert aiming for a target speed of 23kph.

‘‘The start has to be great. You have to push your body weight and your chair to get it moving fast. Then it’s all about being patient.’’

After competing in Canberra, James will feature at the New Zealand track and field championships in Wellington over March 2-5.

Sport

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2023-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/282355453877652

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