September 20, 2016

Gold for UOW student in Rio

UOW engineering student James Turner is celebrating winning a gold medal and setting a world record at the Rio Paralympics.

The 20-year-old ran an incredible race, leading from the start to finish in the men’s 800 metre (T36) event, smashing the world record by close to three seconds.

His nearest rival, Britain’s Paul Blake, finished seven seconds behind.

Turner, who started a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering in 2015, debuted in athletics this year, after representing Australia in the 2012 in Para-football 7-a-side at the AFC Dream Asia Cerebral Palsy Tournament.

Turner was a member of the Australian Pararoos 7-a-side team for cerebral palsy footballers. He was the Football Federation of Australia’s player of the year with a disability in 2013.

Although the team didn’t qualify for the Rio Games, Australian Paralympic talent scouts spotted Turner’s speed and running style and asked him if he wanted to switch sports.

"I wanted to stick to my splits that my coach Robbo (Brett Robinson) has taught me to do and I knew if I did that I could pull it off,” Turner said, as reported by paralymnpic.org.au.

“I thought I’d run fast but not that fast. I’ve trained in athletics since I was about eight years old and always been very competitive with my twin sister Hayley.

"She was always better than me and that pushed me harder to get better.” 

James was an NAB Sports Scholarship recipient in 2015.

Read more about James Turner at the Australian Paralympic Committee website.

Photo supplied courtesy of the Australian Paralympic Committee.