Canberra, Australia; 26 January 2024ย –ย Reigning Paralympic championย Vanessa Lowย has made a resounding entrance into the Games year, with a world best leap in the Long Jump T61 at the ACT Open and Under 20 Championships in Canberra tonight.
Lowโs performance is not just a victory at her local championships but a proclamation of intent as she builds towards the Paris Games, where the double-leg amputee will aim for a historic third consecutive gold medal.
โThere were a couple of really good jumps out there, but there is a lot I still left out on the track,โ Low said.
โWeโre still building on the consistency on the runway to ensure that even the average jumps are like this as the season progresses, but the confidence is coming in and itโs nice to know that weโll be able to go big in Paris.โ
The mark is extra significant as she builds on her bronze medal performance from the World Para Athletics Championships in July last year; a feat she achieved less than a year after giving birth to her son, Matteo.
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โItโs everything we have been working on in the last year and a half since coming back from pregnancy,โ Low said.
โThere is still room for improvement. I carried great speed through that particular jump in comparison to the other ones, but itโs all about the confidence in my run ups and I know Iโm on the right mark to really go for it next time and carry that speed all the way through.โ
Low will resume training towards Paris 2024 under the tutelage of her coach and husband, Paralympic gold medalist Scott Reardon.
In other results from the ACT Championships tonight, 18-year-oldย Peyton Craigย rewrote the record books, surpassing Paul Byrneโs Australian Under 20 800m record, with a performance of 1:45.77. The record is pending ratification.
The ACT Open and Under 20 Championships continue tomorrow through to Sunday, as some of the nation’s top athletes converge on the track at the Australian Institute of Sport. The meet is hosted by Capital Athletics, with additional information to be foundย here.
Stay up to date with the results of Australiaโs high performance track and field athletes atย www.athletics.com.au.