Chad Perris

Started: He took up the sport at North Beach Athletics Club in Perth, WA, Australia. He began competing in October 2012 at age 20. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; athletics.com.au, 01 Jan 2018; nbablues.com, 13 Apr 2013) Reason: He was looking for something to do during the Australian rules football off-season. "Growing up playing Australian rules football I was always having fun but was never the best player, I was fast though. Coming into the off-season in 2012 a friend said I should come to the local athletics club for the summer. After that I never played a game of 'footy' since. I had a crack at sprinting and never looked back." (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; paralympic.org.au, 01 Sep 2019; wcal.com.au, 04 Jul 2013) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (athleticsintheact.com.au, 29 Feb 2024; athleticswest.com.au, 06 Mar 2024) Awards: In 2013 he was named Best Performing Athlete by North Beach Athletics Club in Perth, WA, Australia. (nbablues.com, 11 Jun 2013, 13 Apr 2013) Additional Info: SUN PROTECTION He has to use SPF50 sunscreen while training outdoors. "A lot of people with albinism are put off by the sun. But if I want to be successful in my sport I have to go outside to train. I have to run in the morning so I can have a break before weight training later in the day. I do everything I can to combat the sun. I even looked into getting a sunscreen sponsor at one point. I probably go through more than a litre of the stuff in a month. Everyone at the track is baffled by how much I use. But I just can't afford to run out of it." (albinismaustralia.org, 01 Sep 2017; canberratimes.com.au, 11 Jan 2017) AWARENESS WORK He has worked with the Albinism Fellowship of Australia to raise awareness of his condition and reduce negative stereotypes. He has also served as a member of Athletics Australia's athlete advisory group. (athletics.com.au, 28 Nov 2018; albinismaustralia.org, 01 Sep 2017)

Sporting Relatives: His great-grandfather played for English football club Fulham between 1934 and 1938. His younger brother Kane Perris has represented Australia in Para cycling at international level. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; paralympic.org.au, 19 Mar 2024; SportsDeskOnline, 22 Mar 2024)