‘The screen’s broken’: After years of bullying, Dayna surprised even herself

For a young woman who doesn’t like going to shopping centres for fear of being looked at, Dayna Crees managed to stay perfectly cool to throw her way to a medal in front of a crowd of tens of thousands in Paris.

The 22-year-old debut Paralympian surprised even herself when she took home bronze for Australia in the javelin (F34) at the Games’ largest arena, the Stade de France, on Sunday night (Paris time).

Javelin thrower Dayna Crees won a bronze medal at the Stade de France.Credit: Paralympics Australia

Crees, from Melbourne, was the second-last competitor to throw out of a field of 10, and cast a personal best 17.65 metres. This trumped her previous top distance of 16.84 metres, which she landed in the 2023 world championships for fourth place.

“I was like, ‘I think the screen’s broken; there’s no way that I just threw that’,” she said.

“I was not expecting to throw as well as I did, let alone medal. It’s just incredible.”

Supported in the crowd by her parents, siblings and grandmother, Crees knocked from the podium a Tunisian thrower, Yousra Ben Jemaa, whose best distance was 17.20 metres.

‘I had a rough time growing up. In school I was bullied a lot. I actually had to make the decision to leave school because I just couldn’t handle it any more.’

Dayna Crees

China took the top two spots, with Lijuan Zou setting a world record of 22.55 metres, and Caiyun Zuo throwing 19.44 metres.

Crees, who will also compete in the shot-put, was born with hereditary spasticity paraplegia, a genetic condition inherited from her father that causes weakness in the lower limbs.

“I had a rough time growing up. In school I was bullied a lot. I actually had to make the decision to leave school because I just couldn’t handle it any more,” she said.

Crees found athletics at age 12, and started out competing in running and jumping, where she set Australian youth records in long jump that still stand.

But as she got older, her balance worsened, and she transitioned to seated throwing.

Crees, who now uses a wheelchair and mobility scooter, said the change was difficult as she worried about being judged.

“Going from someone who was able to run and jump, and then having to be completely restricted to a seat, I was a bit worried about the comments that were going to be made,” she said. “But I look at it now and I’m like, I’m so glad that I made that decision.”

Crees said she struggled with depression and bullying.

“I have a limp when I walk, so I’d get stared at and pointed out. People wouldn’t want to be my friend any more,” she said. “Had I not gone to get help [from a psychiatrist], I might not have been in this position that I am in today.”

Australian Mali Lovell won bronze in the 200-metre (T36).Credit: AP

She said she still hates going to shopping centres. “All the looks I get … I avoid it as much as I can.”

But now, with a Paralympic medal around her neck, she says she is learning to accept and love diversity.

“We’re all not the same, we’re all not perfect, and if you really believe in yourself, you can get anywhere you want.”

Meanwhile, Paralympic debutante Mali Lovell, 20, landed bronze in the 200-metre (T36), crossing the finish line just over two seconds after China’s Yiting Shi in first place, and New Zealand’s Danielle Aitchison in second.

But sprinter Chad Perris was devastated to miss out on a medal by 0.005 seconds in the 100-metre (T13) final.

Perris crossed the finish line at 10.80(.799) seconds, but Japan’s Shuta Kawakami took third place with a time of 10.80(.794).

“It’s tough, it’s really hard,” he said. “I ran really well, but it’s just fine margins. I probably need to just have a bit more bench-press in me … so my chest is getting over the line earlier.”

Perris, a Rio 2016 bronze medallist, is not ready to give up. Having also placed fourth in the world championships in 2022 and 2023, he is hungrier than ever. His last podium finish was in 2019.

“This makes me hungry for more honestly,” he said.

“It’s just so close every time and it’s killing me. I want to taste that metal again.”

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