How this Paralympian rebounded from glandular fever to break a world record

Paris: James Turner was adamant that his bid to win a gold medal at his third consecutive Paralympics was doomed when he contracted glandular fever in May.

“It was a very hard preparation,” said Turner, who has cerebral palsy. “Maybe the hardest in my life.”

It was why a world record and gold medal in the men’s 400-metre final on Tuesday morning was an achievement that shocked Turner more than anyone, given his rollercoaster preparation.

Turner had work to do coming around the bend of the purple track at the Stade de France but powered home to win by 1.38 seconds over New Zealand’s William Stedman.

Curveballs are thrown at athletes throughout their careers, but this was the biggest adversity Turner had faced during his three Paralympic build-ups.

After picking up 800m gold in Rio (2016) and 400m gold in Tokyo (2021), Turner was training well and going along smoothly towards Paris before glandular fever struck and derailed his program.

Australian star James Turner wins his third Paralympic gold medal.Credit: AP

“I got quite sick and I wasn’t able to train properly. [Coach] Irena [Dvoskina] had to change all my programs so that I could just make it here. So to be standing here with a world record is amazing.

“I was struggling with it for two months. It really affects the training. You’ve got to build back up from zero. I’d have waves of exhaustion where I could barely walk. I was stumbling around and a bit of delirium. As soon as I’d start training, I’d get worse. So we had to be really careful and come back really slowly.

“It was quite tough mentally, but I’ve had a lot of help with psychology. I have a lot of belief in what I’m doing and the process. We just had to get through it and do what we could on the day.”

In Turner’s corner was Dvoskina, one of the most experienced and respected coaches in the world, who now has helped athletes produce 71 Paralympic medals.

James Turner with his gold medal. Credit: Getty Images

The pair tweaked Turner’s program and helped him get back on track.

“It was my hardest medal,” Dvoskina said. “I locked myself with him.”

However, there was a world where Turner never might never have got back into athletics. It was a blessing in disguise.

The Wollongong product was a budding soccer player and represented the Pararoos – Australia’s para seven-a-side national football team from age 15 to 20. He featured for the Pararoos at world championships in 2015 and 2017.

The Pararoos did not qualify for Rio, so Turner was asked if he wanted to get back on the track where he flourished as a kid in Forster.

“Athletics gave me a call and said, ‘hey, you used to run 800 metres. Want to see if you can come in?’ So I gave it a go,” Turner said. “Did I think it would happen? I had my doubts. I just thought maybe if I do everything right, I can scrape across the line first.

“Every time I’m in lane seven at a major meet, I break a world record.”

More Clifford heartache as Aussie misses medal by 0.01 seconds

Australian track star Jaryd Clifford will leave the Paris Paralympics without a medal to show for his efforts following a “shattering” fourth finish just days after a disqualification in a different race.

The three-time medallist from the Tokyo Paralympics was just 0.01 seconds off a medal in the men’s 1500m final (T13) on Tuesday morning at the Stade de France.

Jaryd Clifford competes in the men’s 1500m (T13) final on Tuesday.Credit: Getty Images

Clifford, who has a visual impairment, dived at the line and fell onto the track at the end of a thrilling race won by Russia’s Aleksandr Kostin, who is competing for Neutral Paralympic Athletes.

Just 0.52 seconds separated Kostin in first and Clifford in fourth.

The result was a brutal blow for Clifford given his shock disqualification in his 5000m event last week.

Clifford, who runs with a guide in the 5000m, dropped the tether – held by his guide – one metre before the line.

His bronze medal was stripped because rules state both the athlete and guide must hold the tether until the end of the race.

“I’m shattered,” Clifford told reporters. “I feel numb again. It’s almost so ridiculous that it’s funny. A DQ [disqualification] in the last metre and 0.01. It sucks. It’s crazy that it’s three years of work and the last metre of both races can define all of that. It’s pretty brutal.

“With 70 metres to go, I got enough of a sniff and I thought I could go [to the front], but that’s what everyone thinks. I wanted to fight all the way to the line.”

Clifford is one of the most talented athletes on Australia’s Paralympic team but the gold medal he has yearned for will have to wait until Los Angeles 2028, where he intends to compete. Clifford was the favourite in multiple races in Tokyo but came away from those Games with two silvers (5000m and marathon) and one bronze medal (1500m).

The 25-year-old from Victoria still doesn’t know why he dropped the tether.

“I had a brain fade and dropped the stupid tether with like a metre to go,” Clifford said. “That’s probably the laziest moment of my career. I just wanted to make sure I ran through that line.”

Clifford said he had received widespread support from members of the Australian team after his disqualification, including from Australia’s wheelchair rugby stalwart Ryley Batt.

“I remember being nine years old watching Ryley at the Beijing Paralympics and then he’s consoling me. We were both saying we made mistakes,” Clifford said.

“This is why I love representing Australia at the Paralympics. I love this team so much. I remember Kurt Fearnley said, ‘when you pull on the singlet, you’ve got to give more than your best’.”

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