Telaya Blacksmith

Telaya Blacksmith
Personal information
NationalityAustralian
Sport
Country Australia
SportAthletics
DisabilityT20

Telaya Blacksmith (born 3 December 2007)[1] is a Warlpiri Australian Paralympic athletics competitor with an intellectual disability. She competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics and became Australia's 16th Indigenous Australian Paralympian.[2]

Personal

Blacksmith was born in Perth and raised in the Aboriginal community of Lajamanu in the Northern Territory and she is the first Warlpiri athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games.[3][1] She attended Warilla High School and in 2024 attends Endeavour Sports High School in Sydney.[4][5]

Athletics

She is classified as a T20 athlete. Cathy Freeman was her idol growing up.[4] At 14, she represented Australia at the 2022 Virtus Oceania Asia Games in Brisbane and then the 2023 Virtus Global Games in Vichy, France.[4] In 2024, Blacksmith holds the Australian under 15, under 17 and under 20 T20 records in the 100 m, 200 m and long jump. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, she competed in the 400m T20 where she holds the Australian under 17, under 20 and open T20 records, breaking the Oceanic record on her way to finishing 8th in the final.[4][6][7] In the long jump T20, she finished ninth.[8]

She is coached by Jacinta Doyle and Anula Costa.[4]

Australian football

In 2024, Blacksmith plays Australian football with Miranda Bombers and is in the Sydney Swans AFL academy.

In 2021, she won Illawarra Academy of Sport's Brett Stibners Award for 2020-21 AWD Athlete of the Year.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Telaya Blacksmith". Australia Athletics. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Fearnley Protégé Among Newest Members Of Australian Paralympic Team | Paralympics Australia". www.paralympic.org.au. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Paris-bound Paralympics teen shares her drive". ABC News. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e admin (19 July 2024). "Telaya Blacksmith - Paralympian". Sport Inclusion Australia. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Paris calling?". Katherine Times (Australia). 20 March 2024. p. 16.
  6. ^ "Records – Women's 400m - T20 Round 1 Heat 2 Results" (PDF). Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Records – Women's 400m - T20 Final Start List" (PDF). Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Australian Athletics Results". athletics.possumbility.com. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Blacksmith wins Brett Stibners Award". Illawarra Academy of Sport. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2024.