Paralympics 2024: ‘Fast, friendly girl’ to put NT on the map
The 16-year-old whose Paralympic journey is funded by Latrell Mitchell is set to take Paris by storm.
Paralympics Australia asked Telaya Blacksmith to describe herself in a couple of sentences. “A fast, friendly girl from the NT ready to show the world what I’ve got,” she replied. “I represent my family every time I race and know that I’m an inspiration for other young Aboriginal kids.”
The fast, friendly 16-year-old has two events on her agenda in her Paralympic debut. The T20 400m and long jump. She’s the first Warlpiri woman, from remote Lajamanu in the Northern Territory, to become a Paralympian, and carries a reputation for being something special as a natural sporting talent. A little financial backing is going her way from the fast, mostly friendly, high-profile Aboriginal NRL star Latrell Mitchell.
“When I was in Year 6 my parents put us all into Little Athletics for a summer sport and I just ran faster and faster every time,” Blacksmith says. “I’ll be the first person of Warlpiri descent to compete at the Paralympics. It’s a big deal for all my family.
“Lots of my cousins, nieces and nephews look up to me and that is something that will be pushing me when I race and the legs start to burn in the last 100m. When I finish my athletics I’m hoping to go to NT schools and start coaching.”
Australia’s diminished returns in track and field at the Olympics and Paralympics is routinely blamed on the lack of Indigenous involvement. Our best and most beautifully fast, friendly, fleet-footed Aboriginal athletes gravitate to the football codes, reserving their magic primarily for the AFL and NRL. Blacksmith was born four years after the Sydney Olympics but her hero is the fast, friendly Cathy Freeman, who knew a thing or two about 400m races and waving her Aboriginal flag as passionately as her Australian one.
The 400m final in Paris will be on Wednesday at 3.08am (AEST). The fast, friendly girl from the NT will launch into the long jump on Saturday at 3.50am (AEST).
“Maybe silver or bronze would be a good experience for my first Olympic or Paralympic medals,” she says. “I’m pretty excited and nervous. I just want to get on the track and run and compete. I can’t wait to be on the telly.”
Blacksmith’s intellectual disability affects her memory. She’s moved to Sydney to pursue running and Australian rules football via the Sydney Swans Academy. The big smoke in NSW is a long way from Lajamanu, a seven-hour drive from Katherine in the NT, which in turn is a world away from the , deafening, 70,000-seat Stade de France she’s stepping into here.
Just how fast is the fast, friendly girl from the NT? We’ll find out soon enough. Her mother, Bec Woolfe, told the ABC last month: “When we lived in Dubbo, she did the school carnival and she kept beating everybody, so we decided to put our kids into Little Athletics. She kept beating everyone there, too, so we took up some coaching. It’s pretty surreal. I can’t watch it. I’ll probably be there with my hands over my face for the first few seconds.”
More Coverage
Coach’s defection an ominous sign for Aussie Olympic swim prospects
Just months after retiring from the Australian swim team, legendary coach Michael Bohl is moving to China. It could have massive repercussions for Australia in the pool.
‘Defective’ Paris Olympic medals to be replaced
The International Olympic Committee has confirmed ‘defective medals’ from the 2024 Games will be replaced with identical models after a flood of complaints from disgruntled athletes.