Amanda Kotaja

Started: She took up the sport at age 12 at a sports camp in Kuortane, Finland. (yle.fi, 27 Jan 2018; Athlete, 17 Oct 2011) Reason: She was keen on sports at school and her goal then was to become a Paralympic gold medallist. "I was able to apply and use my imagination on how to perform the different types of sports. My teachers were really wonderful. The best part of sports was getting to be with others. When I was 12, there was a trial camp for those interested in Para athletics. At the same time, the Finnish Para athletes were also camping there and I was able to try a chair owned by a national Para athlete." (yle.fi, 27 Jan 2018) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (paralympia.fi, 03 Dec 2023) Awards: She was named Sportsperson of the Year at the 2015 Satakunta Sports Gala in Finland. (yleisurheilu.fi, 31 Jan 2016) She was named the 2014 Young Athlete of the Year by the Finnish Paralympic Committee. (sport.fi, 28 Jan 2015) Additional Info: COMPETING WITH MEN Throughout her career she has participated in competitions against men, mainly due to a lack of female wheelchair racers in Finland. "I was the only woman for a long time. Sini Paukkeri joined us a few years ago. I'm only getting to compete against men in my country at the moment [2020]. Of course, I'd love to have a start line full of women, but I'm used to racing and training with the boys. I've learned to compete with men. I often wonder why there aren't more female Para athletes in Finland. Are we protecting girls, or is it about Para sport being too difficult? There may be prejudice in clubs, there are fears that a Para athlete will be hurt, but we just move differently. My dream would be that one day there will be full tracks of female Para athletes in Finland." (anna.fi, 22 Nov 2020; cp-liitto.fi, 29 Jun 2020; aamulehti.fi, 19 May 2020) RUNWAY TRAINING When she began the sport as a child, she trained on an airport runway before moving on to the athletics track. "I started on winding country roads with my dad running next to me. Vampula [in Finland] also has a private airport, the owner of which is a friend of our family. I got permission to train there on a mile-long runway, and it was an amazing training ground." (cp-liitto.fi, 29 Jun 2020)