Amanda Reid

Started: She was involved in cycling as a child, and began Para cycling in 2015. (sbs.com.au, 24 Jan 2021; australiancyclingteam.com, 23 Jan 2020) Reason: She followed her older sister into sports. She originally competed in Para swimming, before switching to Para cycling and then Para snowboard. "I have an older sister and so I used to just get dragged along to sport. Being five years younger I couldn't be left at home by myself, so that's kind of how it all started. I am the most fearless person I know. My family are always saying to me, 'I wouldn't get on a bike with no brakes, or a snowboard that goes down a winding hill so fast'. But for me it's fun." (glutenfreeliving.com.au, 27 Jul 2023; sbs.com.au, 26 Jan 2021) Ambition: To win gold medals at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris and the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (heraldsun.com.au, 25 May 2024; glutenfreeliving.com.au, 27 Jul 2023) Milestones: She became the first female Para snowboarder representing Australia to win gold at the world championships by claiming victory in the SB-LL1 snowboard cross at the 2023 edition of the tournament in La Molina, Spain. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Dec 2023) Awards: She was presented with the Sir Hubert Opperman Trophy for the 2023 AusCycling Cyclist of the Year. (auscycling.org.au, 20 Dec 2023) She was named National Sportsperson with a Disability of the Year at the 2023 National Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Sports Awards [NATSISA]. (National Indigenous Sports Foundation Instagram profile, 15 Nov 2023) She was named Female Para Athlete of the Year at the 2023 Snow Australia Awards. (Snow Australia Facebook page, 27 Apr 2023) In 2022 she was presented with the Medal of the Order of Australia [OAM]. (nswis.com.au, 27 Jan 2022) In 2016 and 2020 she was named Female Para Cyclist of the Year by Cycling New South Wales in Australia. (cycling.org.au, 07 Apr 2021; Facebook page, 06 Feb 2017) She was named the 2017 National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee [NAIDOC] Sportsperson of the Year in Australia. (australiancyclingteam.com, 23 Jan 2020) She was named the 2012 Junior Sports Star by the Penrith Press newspaper in New South Wales, Australia. (dailytelegraph.com.au, 2014) She received Australia Day Sports and Citizenship Local Hero awards in 2006 and 2008. (adhc.nsw.gov.au, 2011) Additional Info: MULTI-SPORT ATHLETE After competing in Para swimming at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, she switched to Para cycling in 2015 and went on to compete in the sport at the 2016 and 2020 Games. She took up Para snowboard in 2018 with a view to competing in the sport at the Paralympic Winter Games. "I actually did cycling when I was little. I found my old cycling jersey when I was doing a clear out and I thought, 'Let's give this a go again'. That was how it all started back in 2015 to get back on the bike. I tried a winter sport for a while to give myself a break from cycling. I did 16 weeks during the snow season in 2018 in the winter. I absolutely loved that." (sbs.com.au, 26 Jan 2021, 24 Jan 2021; australiancyclingteam.com, 23 Jan 2020; paralympic.org.au, 2012)