Australia name first members of Lyon 2013 team

Evan O’Hanlon, Kelly Cartwright, Richard Colman, Todd Hodgetts and Kurt Fearnley will compete at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships. 12 Feb 2013

Evan O'Hanlon sprints to his second gold of London 2012 in the men's 200m T38.

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“Four of these athletes won gold medals at the Paralympic Games to ensure their selection, and in Kurt’s case, his bronze medal in the marathon earned him automatic selection.”

London 2012 Paralympic gold medallists Evan O’Hanlon, Kelly Cartwright, Richard Colman and Todd Hodgetts, as well as four-time world champion Kurt Fearnley, were given automatic selection on Tuesday (12 February) to compete at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France.

The first five athletes named will make up a team that hopes to improve on their 27 medals won in athletics at London 2012, and the announcement is the first of three to be made by Athletics Australia in the coming months.

“Four of these athletes won gold medals at the Paralympic Games to ensure their selection, and in Kurt’s case, his bronze medal in the marathon earned him automatic selection,” said Dion Russell, Athletics Australia Chairman of Selectors.

O’Hanlon’s performance at the Paralympic Games was arguably the most impressive, and earned him the title of 2012 Male Athlete with a Disability of the Year from Athletics Australia.

The favourite in the men’s 100m and 200m T38 events coming into competition, the 24-year-old was unchallenged as he lowered the world record in both events to win double gold.

Coached by Iryna Dvoskina, O’Hanlon’s Paralympic performance followed a four-medal haul at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand, with his event schedule once again set to feature the sprint double alongside the 400m.

“I’ve decided to add the 400m to my schedule for World Championships because I am really keen to challenge myself in a new event,” O’Hanlon told Athletics Australia. “I’ve been lucky to enjoy the success I have in the short sprints and I now want to push the limits on something new.

“I’ll be honest and say that I’m not loving the new training at this stage, but with hard work it will get a bit easier and hopefully I will reap the rewards. My training squad and I have actually been in Narabeen these past few weeks training on the sand to strengthen my legs and that should translate into some good results when we head back to Canberra on Wednesday.”

Cartwight, meanwhile, was a dual gold medallist at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships and at London 2012 she won gold in the long jump F42/44 before returning to the track to win silver in the 100m T42.

Crowned the 2012 Female Athlete with a Disability of the Year by Athletics Australia, the 23-year-old, who is coached by Tim Matthews, was a finallist for 2012 Australian Paralympian of the Year and looks forward to challenging the world’s best.

“I had surgery on my ankle when I came home from London, and to have my selection pretty much wrapped up because of my performance at the Games is very reassuring as I continue to recover the best I can,” Cartwright told Athletics Australia.

“The World Championships are the biggest event on the calendar this year, and with that in mind I want to make sure that I perform well in France. I had great success in Christchurch two years ago and to replicate that again in 2013 would be a fantastic result.”

A Paralympic debutant in 2012, Hodgetts arrived in London after throwing a shot put world record for athletes with intellectual disabilities at the 2012 Australian Athletics Championships.

Improving that record twice in the thrower’s circle of the main stadium, Hodgetts heaved an impressive 16.29m to be crowned Paralympic champion.

Colman and Fearnley boast two of the most impressive international resumes in Australian athletics.

Colman is a seven-time Paralympic medallist (including two gold) a two-time IPC world champion, a Commonwealth Games silver medallist and a gold medallist from an exhibition 800m T53 at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, Korea.

The winner of nine medals, including three gold, across three appearances at the Paralympic Games, Fearnley has won six world titles at the IPC Athletics World Championships and also taken line honours, plus an additional ten podium finishes, from the 43 marathon races he has looked to conquer.

Athletics Australia Selectors will also make announcements on this team after the conclusion of the 2013 Australian Athletics Championships, and following its Final Selectors Meeting to be held on 3 June.