Paris 2024: Para triathlete Lauren Parker ‘is unbreakable’

Australian Para triathlete Lauren Parker has a back tattoo that says: “She is unbreakable” and on day five of the Games she lived up to that mantra claiming Paralympic gold.   

The 35-year-old won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games after the USA’s Kendall Gretsch pipped her for the top gong by a second in a thrilling sprint finish.   

The disappointment lit a fire in her belly and Parker came to Paris on a mission to go one better.  

“It’s absolutely amazing. I can’t believe I was able to do it... it’s been a long journey to get here,” Parker told reporters.  

“I couldn’t be more proud”  

Dream beckons  

Para triathletes started and finished on the 45m wide and 107m long, Pont Alexandre III, a bridge between the Seine’s two banks in central Paris. The Eiffel Tower loomed in the distance and a French marching band provided ambience as the races got underway. 

It was 21.1C in the water and a balmy 18.5 C with a light breeze. 

The event kicked off with a 750m swim in the Seine before competitors biked and ran near iconic landmarks such as the Grand Palais.  

There was immense relief when Parker crossed the finish line in Paris.  

“The swim was tough, obviously coming back with the current against you,” she said.  

“The hardest part was the sun was in your eyes and you couldn’t see anything... I couldn’t see the end.”  

She was a minute and six seconds ahead of the pack but had hoped for a bigger lead going into the next leg. 

“I wasn’t too happy with my swim leg... I knew I had to push it on the bike,” she said.  

Parker said the bike leg was her strongest.  

“I felt stronger the last four laps,” she said.  

“I was gaining time and increasing my gap.”  

She also felt confident about the run leg and had made huge improvements in recent years. 

In Paris, Gretsch had to settle for silver and was full of praise for her rival Parker.  

“I’m so excited for Lauren, we have become friends over these past three years,” Gretsch told reporters.  

“That’s the most special part of the Paralympics and being able to compete at the highest level... I’m not just competing with these women I’ve become friends with them. That connection is something that’s going to last forever.”  

Resilience  

During her youth, Parker grappled with mental health issues including self-harm and eating disorders.  

“I’ve been through a lot of things in my life. It’s just about being an over-comer and adapting,” she said.  

“Looking at the positives... I want to inspire as many people as possible... no matter what you can always have success.”  

She lives with severe neuropathic pain which she likened to "razor blades cutting” her up, “burning alive” and “being eaten alive by acid”.  

“Right now I’m in horrific pain with nerve pain through my body,” she said.  

“Yes, I’ve got a high pain threshold because of it. No matter how much pain I put myself through in sport it is not as bad as the nerve pain.”  

Energy in the tank  

Parker won’t have much time to celebrate the gold, she has a day off to recover before Wednesday’s individual time trial H 1-3 in the Para cycling road and Thursday’s road race.  

“Of course (there’s enough energy left) I’ve been preparing for this,” she said.  

“The goal is to get three goal medals.”  

Catch Parker in the Para cycling road events on 4 and 5 September.