Vanessa Low

Started: She took up Para athletics in 2009 at the Schleswig-Holstein Regional Performance Centre in Ratzeburg, Germany, where she borrowed some sports prostheses. She decided to drop out of school in the 12th grade and move to Leverkusen, Germany, where she was offered the opportunity to train with German Olympic javelin thrower Steffi Nerius at the TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen club. (Athlete, 26 Nov 2019, 09 Feb 2011; evangelisch.de, 16 Nov 2010) Reason: She was inspired by US Para athlete Cameron Clapp. She also wanted to continue to be involved in sport after her accident, having practised ballet dancing for eight years previously. "I always loved running, I enjoyed the time in nature as well as the community aspect of sport. In order to return back to a balanced life I knew I needed to run again, and after some detours, I found my way into competitive sport." (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; evangelisch.de, 16 Nov 2010; paralympic.org, 24 Sep 2015) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (paralympic.org, 26 Jan 2024) Awards: In 2022 she was presented the Medal of the Order of Australia [OAM] in Australia. (Instagram profile, 20 May 2022; athletics.com.au, 27 Jan 2022) She won the Amy Winters Award for Female Para Athlete of the Year at the 2022 Athletics Australia Awards in Sydney, NSW, Australia. (athletics.com.au, 04 Apr 2022) She was named the 2020 Para Athlete of the Year at the CBR Sport Awards in Canberra, ACT, Australia. (canberratimes.com.au, 16 Dec 2020) She was named the 2016 Sportswoman with an Impairment of the Year by the National Paralympic Committee of Germany. (paralympic.org, 29 Nov 2016) Additional Info: MOTHERHOOD She gave birth to her son Matteo in June 2022. "To be honest, I wasn't quite sure how easy it was going to be to conquer this journey with a baby. I knew that things were going to change a little bit and that the centre of attention is not always just sport. But Matteo really fit right into our life. He loves playing in the sandpit, he comes to training every other day, and we found a very fun groove. [While pregnant] I found another appreciation for sport because it gave me that feeling of 'me' even though everything else was changing and everything was getting a lot harder." (paralympic.org, 26 Jan 2024) FROM GERMANY TO AUSTRALIA She began competing for Australia in February 2019, having previously represented Germany. "It was a really tough decision. I really cherish where I am from, I am really close to my family, both my physical family, my parents and siblings, as well as my athletic family, but at the same time I really cherished the way I was going and my life in Australia was quite amazing. So, becoming part of the Australian team was very special." (Australian Embassy - Germany Facebook page, 17 Aug 2021; IPC, 15 Feb 2019) HUSBAND AND COACH In December 2021 she began training with her husband, Australian Para athlete Scott Reardon. "Scott Reardon has been one of my biggest inspirations as an athlete and human being and I know there is so much I will learn from him both on and off the track. I think it's so special that our adversities, our accidents, in a way, have brought us together. It's a big connection that we've always had and being able to carry that forth into a different aspect of our lives is really exciting." (abc.net.au, 01 Mar 2022; canberratimes.com.au, 02 Jan 2022) RETIREMENT AND RETURN She retired from competitive Para athletics after competing at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. In 2013 she visited a friend, German Paralympian Katrin Green, in the United States of America, and it was there where she rediscovered her love for the sport. She lived and trained in Oklahoma City, OK, United States of America, for three years until mid-2016, when she returned to Germany due to her visa becoming invalid. (paralympic.org, 11 May 2016, 24 Sep 2015) TATTOOS Her tattoos include the latitude and longitude coordinates of several cities where she has competed in major events. They include the coordinates for Bengaluru, India, because she made her international debut there at the 2009 IWAS World Games. (Facebook page, 30 Dec 2015)

Sporting Relatives: Her husband Scott Reardon won a gold medal representing Australia in the men's T42 100m at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and silver in the same event at the 2012 Games in London. (SportsDeskOnline, 15 Feb 2019; canberratimes.com.au, 13 Sep 2018)