Wheelchair racer Angie Ballard realises she can be the best in the world

IT HAS taken Angie Ballard world championships, world records and four Paralympic Games campaigns, but she’s finally worked out where she sits in wheelchair racing’s pecking order.

Wheelchair sprinter Angie Ballard (left) with coach Louise Sauvage and fellow Paralympic athlete Madison de Rozario (right) at the announcement of the 44-strong Paralympic athletics team at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra on Tuesday.

IT HAS taken Angie Ballard world championships, world records and four Paralympic Games campaigns, but she’s finally worked out where she sits in wheelchair racing’s pecking order.

“Since London, I have realised my best could be the best in the world,” Ballard says.

“I’m still finding the right combination of training, competition and preparation, and I still think there is more around the corner in terms of getting faster and getting better at what I do.”

Ballard was yesterday named in Australia’s Paralympics athletics team, alongside retiring legend Kurt Fearnley and a string of defending world and Paralympic champions including Canberra sprinter Evan O’Hanlon, Queensland long-jumper Carlee Beattie and Tasmania shot-putter Todd Hodgetts.

At the other end, 100m and 200m T35 world record holder Isis Holt from Victoria will make her Paralympics debut.

The team of 44 is the largest section of the national squad and represents more than a quarter of the 169 athletes Australia will send to the Games in Rio, starting on September 7.

The final team announcement, para-triathlon, is to be revealed today. (subs:Wednesday)

Ballard won Commonwealth gold in the 1500m in Glasgow two years ago, and is coming off double gold in the 200m and 400m at last year’s world championships in Doha.

Wheelchair sprinter Angie Ballard (left) with coach Louise Sauvage and fellow Paralympic athlete Madison de Rozario (right) at the announcement of the 44-strong Paralympic athletics team at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra on Tuesday.

But Paralympic gold remains illusive for the 34-year-old.

The nearest she has come since her debut in Sydney in 2000 is individual silver in the 200m and 400m in London four years ago, and silver in the 4x100m relay in Beijing.

Ballard, coached by nine-time Paralympics champion Louiss Sauvage, said she was beginning to sense the nervous energy that last year’s world championships would make her a target for competitors in Rio.

“We’re so close now, in 36 days we’ll be getting ready to compete,” she said.

“I haven’t had this pressure ahead of previous Games, but now I am among the top athletes competing in my class.

“I’m excited to see how it goes when I compete at the biggest event I can go to, and hopefully I’ll do really well.”

Beattie won long-jump gold at last year’s world championships and, like Ballard, is hoping to go one better than her London silver.

“This is something I have worked towards for the last few years and I’m thrilled to be named on my third team with a chance to achieve my goals,” she said.

“I think the quality of the competition in my class has really improved and it will be very competitive event.”

Australian Paralympic team chef de mission Kate McLoughlin said the success of the athletics team would go a long way to leading the country to its target of a top-five finish on the medal tally.

“Australia has a rich history in Paralympic athletics. We’ve won more than 350 medals since the sport was introduced at the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960,” she said.

“And if the Australian Paralympic Team is to finish in the top 5 on the medal tally in Rio, it will be this group who will largely determine whether we achieve that goal.”

The Rio Paralympic Games run from September 7 to September 18.

Originally published as Wheelchair racer Angie Ballard realises she can be the best in the world