Harvey Norman and Paralympics Australia host Come and Try Day at Gepps Cross

One of SA’s rising star Paralympians almost never made it to her sport, now she’s teaming up to bring para-sports to other kids. Meet the stars this weekend.

One of the youngest medallists in Australian Paralympic history almost never found her sport.

Para-swimming prodigy, or “superfish” as she’s known, Izzy Vincent only got into the sport at the end of Year 6 after surgery left her needing hydrotherapy.

From there the never 16-year-old never looked back and now the Burnside teen is a dual Paralympics medallist.

“I’ve always wished I found swimming a bit earlier and found sport earlier,” she said.

“It took a while to realise I could get involved in para-sport.”

Izzy Vincent at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. Picture: Sportshoot/Delly Carr/PA

Now Vincent makes a point of helping others to involve themselves where others were never afforded the chance.

Vincent and fellow Paralympian Sam von Einem will be headlining the Paralympics - Come and Try Day at The ARC Campbelltown.

Von Einem, from Glengowrie, is a two-time Paralympic silver medallist in table tennis.

The 26-year-old honed his skills on a table tennis table against his parents in a bunker, sheltering from the heat in their home in Abu Dhabi when he was eight.

The free event on Saturday, April 2, hopes to entice those wanting to try out para and wheelchair sports in an environment where they can be with others doing the same thing.

Vincent said the event mirrored the Paralympic movement of embracing people living with a disability and helping people with disabilities to thrive in sport.

“Part of the Paralympic movement is to celebrate your disability, which is why I love it,” she said.

“I would have absolutely benefited from a come and try day so I’m proud to be part of the para movement when things like this are happening.”

Harvey Norman Gepps Cross electronics franchisee Nick Karasoulos said it was a pleasure to be involved with the event, which he said was “so important”.

“It’s all about increasing the exposure of para-sports,” he said.

“We’re in the position we can increase the exposure, so it’s great we can help families and help them realise there are these opportunities out there.”

A variety of para-sports will be on offer at The ARC Campbelltown including Vincent’s forte, swimming and von Einem’s specialty table tennis, as well as athletics, canoe, badminton, ice hockey, archery, shooting, wheelchair tennis and wheelchair basketball.

Entry and participation in the April 2 event is free.

Registration is essential for the day and can be done here.

The come and try event will run from 1pm until 3.30pm and is a partnership between Harvey Norman and Sport Australia.