Article by George Clarke, courtesy of The Nightly.
Long-jumper Vanessa Low has set her sights on cracking the six-metre mark after claiming a third-straight Paralympic gold as Australia claimed three more gold medals overnight.
On her first jump at the Stade de France on Thursday, Low (T61), set a new world record of 5.45m.
Her closest competitor — silver medallist Martina Carboni — jumped just 5.06m, further solidifying 34-year-old Low’s dominance across the sport.
But despite winning three consecutive golds while representing both Germany and Australia, Low said she wants to keep driving for more.
“I love putting myself on the big stage, and I think I can jump six metres,” she said.
“I think this is my next big goal, six is possible, I want to break down barriers.
“When I first picked up the sport we were at 4.5m and now we are all pushing boundaries.”
The long-jumper, who returned to first spot on the podium after giving birth to son Matteo in June 2022, added: “When I went to bed last night, I had a feeling I was going to open up big.”
Low’s was one of three Australian gold medals on day seven.
Lauren Parker won the H1-4 road race road race to become the first Australian to win gold in two Paralympic disciplines after she also won the triathlon.
Timothy Hodge finished first in the S9 200m individual medley.
Hodge, who lost his right foot as a child, once told his parents he wouldn’t be good at anything.
After he played his part in Australia’s 34 point 100m relay gold medal win, he now has two golds from Paris “When I told that to my parents they were adamant, no, we’ll find something that I was good at,” said Hodge.
“I am extremely proud to say that all the hard times and everything was worth it.”
