Tokyo 2021: Mind over matter for Paralympic paddler Dylan Littlehales
It is so small it’s hard to describe but it’s the difference between winning medals and finishing in the pack for this Tokyo Games hopeful.
Central Coast
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For Dylan Littlehales the difference between winning and losing is roughly a quarter of a second.
A time deficit so tiny it’s almost impossible to fathom.
But it’s roughly the deficit, Littlehales is looking to make up between now and the rescheduled Paralympics.
“I had two photo finishes last year and lost both of them,” said the Central Coast paddler who has relocated to Wheeler Heights to be closer to the NSWIS training centre at Narrabeen Lakes ahead of the 2021 season.
“I compete over 200m so getting out fast is crucial. it’s a 40 second race so every second counts.
“I was fourth at world champs and second place was .2 of a second faster.
“A quarter of a second between podium and nothing.”
Littlehales, a psychology student at the University of Newcastle, is working on his speed and starting to improve his times but recently also took part in the Mind Games challenge hosted at NSW Sport by Socceroos emotion coach Mike Conway.
The purpose of the course was to get athletes working in teams outside their usual sporting ambit and solving a variety of puzzles, problems and challenges.
“It was really good for communication, showed me a new way of thinking,” he said. “It just opened my mind up a bit to problem solving.”
Littlehales said if the Tokyo Paralympics do go ahead it is likely he will not have faced any international competition in over a year before lining up at the Paralympics.
A major Australian event scheduled for South Australia in December has just been cancelled although plans are still in place for events in Sydney in the New Year.
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