Paralympics organisers failed athletes in Paris. Now Aussie captain says a big change needs to happen before Brisbane 2032

Australian wheelchair racer Angie Ballard has put competition organisers on notice ahead of Brisbane hosting the 2032 Paralympics.

The Aussie veteran is leading the Paralympics team in Paris after she debuted at the Sydney Paralympics in 2000 and became a world champion by the Athens Games in 2004. 

Ballard, who has amassed eight medals across seven Games, finished sixth in her T53 400m race. 

But Ballard was left frustrated by Paris 2024 bosses for failing to consider the needs of para-athletes.

‘You don’t have to add on afterwards. You don’t have to make exceptions,’ she said in a passionate interview at the Stade de France.

‘I don’t have to do 57 right hand turns through here, which is not good for me.

‘I don’t have to go over crappy surfaces with my very expensive tires that could pop at any moment.

‘There’s all these things that, if you are designed for all of it in mind from the get go, then everyone’s welcome, everyone’s included, and everyone’s able to perform at their best, and that’s what it needs to be.

‘We’re here to perform out there, not show you how we can survive that challenge.’

Ballard wants athletes to have more of a voice when it comes to organising future Paralympics

The Australian team co-captain revealed in the build-up to the 400m race on Thursday wheelchair athletes were only given three lanes to conduct warm-ups.

‘I’m just pointing out there’s a lot of decisions made around international Paralympics, athletics at home, made by people who don’t really take into account the performance of what we’re doing,’ she said.

‘I think you need more people with first-hand experience making, being part of those conversations, former athletes, former coaches.

‘Anyone with lived experience is the best, but you can’t just get one answer on disability or sport.’

Wheelchair athletes have also pointed out throughout the Games that the stadium design at several venues – most notably the narrow corridors of the Stade de France – are challenging to navigate.

Ballard insisted her frustrations were not the result of her own T53 classification.

‘I would love to see the day where all of the different classes are supported to perform at their best,’ she said.

‘Which means different things for different classes. Some of our quadriplegic athletes can’t sweat, so putting them on in the heat of the day is gonna have a performance at risk.

‘Same if you’ve got a long walk for some of our 30s (athletes classified in that range) who have co-ordination issues, that’s going to impact performance.’