World Champion Eyes Paralympic Gold

Four-time world champion Lauren Parker has her sights set on Paralympic gold when she competes in the women’s PTWC triathlon at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

The competition kicks off at 4:25pm Sunday, 1 September, featuring athletes from the PTS2, PTS3, PTS4, and PTS5 classifications, followed by the PTWC and PTVI categories on Monday, 2 September.

Parker, who hails from Newcastle and is a NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder is widely regarded as Australia’s best chance for Paralympic Games gold in Paris.

She secured her spot at her second Games by topping the PTWC Women’s rankings – winning every race in the qualifying period.

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Once a promising elite able-bodied triathlete and Australian representative, Parker’s career took a dramatic turn in 2017 during a training ride for IRONMAN Australia. At 40km/hr, a blowout sent her crashing into a guard rail. The accident resulted in a punctured lung, broken ribs, a shattered shoulder blade, a fractured pelvis, and a damaged spinal cord.

After enduring six months of hospital and spinal rehabilitation, Lauren shifted her focus to para triathlon. Just three months into her new discipline, she clinched a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

The four-time world champion won a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, finishing behind gold medal winner Kendall Gretsch (USA) in a dramatic sprint finish.

Since then, Parker has been unstoppable – winning 14 straight race, including nine World Triathlon Para Series triumphs and victory at last year’s Paris 2024 test event.

She will represent Australia in two sports at the Games, also being selected to the Para cycling team.

Article courtesy of Paralympics Australia