Jaryd Clifford

Started: He took up athletics at a Paralympic talent search in 2012. (abc.net.au, 30 Jul 2019) Reason: He loved sports as a child and aspired to play in the Australian Football League. As his vision worsened he decided to switch his focus to running. "I remember I was just in the schoolyard, kicking the ball around, and [I'd] miss a pass or something simple like that and get frustrated. I decided running could be a sport where I didn't have to focus on a ball. It's cliche, but I feel free when I run." (abc.net.au, 30 Jul 2019; iaaf.org, 10 Jul 2018) Ambition: To win a gold medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (vis.org.au, 27 Aug 2023) Additional Info: TOKYO DISAPPOINTMENT Although he won two silver medals and a bronze at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, he was disappointed to miss out on a gold medal and started overtraining after Tokyo. "I'd run in the T13 5000m at the [2020] Paralympic Games, winning silver in the blistering heat of Tokyo. But for a lifetime, it had always been about winning a gold medal. My grandfather passed away just before Tokyo, and two things we always talked about was winning gold at the Paralympics and breaking the four-minute mile. The day I got home was one of the best days of my life. It was all over, and it was time to rest. I took almost a month away from running, but it's taken me until now [speaking in 2022] to realise that one month wasn't enough. It took me six months of obsessive training before I got injured, which made me realise that my relationship with the sport had become a little bit toxic. I had people messaging me saying that it was their favourite race of the Paralympics, so it was interesting to deal with because I couldn't show how disappointed I really was." (sahof.org.au, 12 Dec 2023; Melbourne Uni Sport Instagram profile, 14 Sep 2023; athletics.com.au, 22 Jun 2023, 22 Feb 2023; theguardian.com, 23 Aug 2022) NON-PARA COMPETITION He has competed in non-Para athletics, including at the 2018 World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. "I just live life by the day. If my vision gets worse in the future, so be it, but I'm a runner so I'm going to put myself in every race I can physically do. When I'm on the start line, yeah I'm a Paralympian, but at the end of the day we're all runners and I was fighting as hard as everyone." (iaaf.org, 10 Jul 2018) WRITER He has written articles on athletics for the Runner's Tribe website. "I just love meeting people and love getting their stories out there. I don't think I could just run and that was it." (Little Athletics Victoria YouTube channel, 10 Jun 2019; runnerstribe.com, 31 May 2019)