While Australia sits in 8th on the medal tally and our Paralympians have won 32 medals so far, one para-athlete who will be rueing his missed opportunities in Paris is Jaryd Clifford.
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Clifford’s Close Calls
Clifford came agonisingly close to winning a bronze medal in the 1500m T13 on Day 6. The 25-year-old was pipped by neutral Paralympic athlete Anton Kuliatin by 0.01 seconds and finished fourth.
The result only compounded Clifford’s Paris 2024 heartache. Three days ago he believed he had a bronze medal firmly in his grasp after finishing third in the 5000m T13. However, Clifford was disqualified from the race for dropping the tether attached to his guide, Matt Clarke, one metre before the line. The T13 is a classification for visually impaired athletes who are permitted to use a guide if they wish. A guide runs alongside the athlete with both holding onto a tether.
It’s not all bad for Clifford though. Competing at his third Paralympics, he is a decorated three-time medallist from Tokyo (two silver, one bronze) and has aspirations to race at Los Angeles 2028 and a home games at Brisbane 2032.
What he said:
Regarding his results in Paris: “The emotions? It’s almost so ridiculous that it’s funny. I get DQ’d in the last metre (5000m) and 0.01 from a medal here. I don’t know… It’s crazy that it’s three years of work and the last metre defines all of that. It’s pretty brutal and I’m shattered.”
On his future aspirations: “I’ll be in Brisbane, I’m not even capping it there, I love running so I’m just going to keep going. I hope one day I can come in here and be stoked, but it’s starting to feel like déjà vu a little bit.”
