Burrito boy to sweet revenge: 10 best moments of the Paris Paralympics

Paris: Australian athletes at the Paralympic Games in Paris have brought home plenty of medals, but they’ve also brought us tears, awe and laughter.

There are still medals up for grabs, with Australians competing all the way through to Sunday afternoon, Paris time. But as we approach the close of the Games, we have rounded up a small collection of Aussie highlights, in no particular order.

Alexa Leary’s epic relay leg

Alexa Leary looked as shocked as anyone given the ground she had to make up.Credit: Getty Images

The beauty of a mixed swimming relay is there can be wild fluctuations in leaders. When Alexa Leary dived in for the final two laps of freestyle in the mixed 4x100m medley relay (34 points), she had more than six seconds to make up on the Netherlands. Leary has less of a physical impairment than the Netherlands’ swimmer Thijs van Hofweegen and sealed a sensational gold medal. Her teammates Jesse Aungles, Timothy Hodge and Emily Beecroft were ecstatic. Cate Campbell in commentary summed it up perfectly. “Simply sensational. Unbelievable. Everyone is in disbelief. We thought the Netherlands were untouchable but we knew we had a secret weapon in our arsenal and her name is Alexa Leary.”

Korey Boddington’s burrito love affair

Korey Boddington with the Australian flag after his win.Credit: Getty Images

Korey Boddington only joined the elite cycling scene last year, but on his first day of racing at the Paralympics, he made sure his name would be committed to memory.

Boddington, 28, won gold in the one-kilometre time trial at the velodrome in a time of one minute, 1.65 seconds.

After the race, he explained why he has the nickname “Flying Burrito”. His nutrition plan involves nothing but homemade burritos.

“I eat a burrito for breakfast, a burrito for lunch and a burrito for dinner. Even here, I’m still eating burritos.”

Jaryd Clifford digs deep

Jaryd Clifford competes in the men’s 5000m.Credit: AP

The 25-year-old from Canberra epitomises the Paralympic spirit. After being disqualified from his 5000m event, Jaryd Clifford took the 1500m race head on by leading early. It was a fearless move that showed he wasn’t going to die wondering. Knowing a bronze medal might be about to slip, Clifford leaped over the finish line and fell onto the track in complete desperation. He finished fourth by one hundredth of a second. The image of him sprawled on the track said so much about his tenacity. His dignified and glass-half-full interview afterwards was classy. If he ever gets that elusive Paralympic gold, it will be a wonderful story.

Lauren Parker’s tale of revenge

Lauren Parker makes her way down the Champs-Elysees in the triathlon.Credit: AP

Lauren Parker comfortably scooped a gold medal in the triathlon, and her victory was made even more sweet by the fact she trumped her US rival, Kendall Gretsch, by more than a minute.

In Tokyo, 35-year-old Parker narrowly missed out on first place. She’d been leading for the majority of the race when Gretsch came from behind to beat her by just one second in an intense sprint finish.

“I was able to enjoy the last lap a little bit and especially at the finish line, I looked back and made sure no one was chasing me down,” Parker said.

She then went on to pick up gold and silver medals in road cycling, becoming the first Australian since 1976 to score gold medals in two different sports at the one Paralympic Games.

Tom Gallagher comes good

Tom Gallagher won Australia’s first gold medal of the Paralympics on Thursday in Paris.Credit: Getty

Tom Gallagher won Australia’s first gold medal on the opening night of competition in the pool and revealed he’d nearly died three years ago in Tokyo at the Paralympics. Gallagher, who has cerebral palsy, had a massive pancreas attack shortly after a 400m race and spent a month in hospital in 2021. There was no problem getting his medal this time after a brilliant race executed to perfection.

Vanessa Low’s family moment

Vanessa Low with her two-year-old son Matteo and husband Scott Reardon, also her coach.Credit: Getty Images

Vanessa Low, 34, smashed her own world record from her very first jump at the Stade de France when she leapt 5.45 metres – more than 10 centimetres further than her previous best.

After easily winning gold, Low celebrated her victory with her husband-turned-coach Scott Reardon and their two-year-old son Matteo.

It’s been an extraordinary return to elite sport for Low, just over two years since giving birth.

“I didn’t come back despite having a baby. I came back because Matteo changed me as a person, and I think he made me stronger, both physically as well as mentally.”

The greatest day in Australian boccia history

Daniel Michel after his silver medal in the boccia.Credit: Getty Images

Boccia has changed the lives of Daniel Michel and Jamieson Leeson, who have higher levels of disabilities than most on the Australian team. They have put their heart and soul into their training and sport and came away from Paris with individual silver medals. It was Australia’s greatest day of boccia, a sport only played at the Paralympics. Watching the way Michel and Leeson work with their guides, Ashlee Maddern and Jasmine Haydon, is a sight to behold as there is so much more that goes into the perfect shot than meets the eye.

Hance digs deep for dad

Ben Hance after winning his gold medal. Credit: Getty Images

It’s been a very tough year for swimmer Ben Hance, who lost his dad in March. When he pointed to the sky and said, ‘I love you dad’ after his gold medal, it was a beautiful moment for a loved member of the Australian Paralympic team. All gold medals mean a lot but this one was mighty special for the Victorian, whose family were in the stands for support.

Dayna Crees’ surprise medal

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

Dayna Crees even surprised herself when she took home bronze for Australia in the javelin.

The 22-year-old debut Paralympian cast a personal best of 17.65 metres on her very first throw, eclipsing her previous top distance of 16.84m.

“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.”

Her win was made all the more remarkable by the fact she usually doesn’t like to visit crowded shopping centres, but she kept her cool in front of a stadium crowd of tens of thousands.

Larrikin Taymon Kenton-Smith wins the crowd

Taymon Kenton-Smith was on fire for much of the individual men’s recurve bow competition.

He worked his way up the ladder, knocking out the world ranked number one, number four and number seven in the process.

He lost in the semi-finals, but he’d already won the crowd, hands down.

With his green and gold hair and an eagle’s feather in his hat, Kenton-Smith stole the show as he rocked out to songs and let his larger-than-life personality shine.

“I will never be forgotten, I’m pretty sure about that,” he said.

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