Telaya Blacksmith

BIOGRAPHY

Born in Perth, Telaya Blacksmith, a woman of Warlpiri descent in the Northern Territory, was raised in remote community of Lajamanu, 900km south of Darwin.

Her journey in sport started when she was showing promise in year 4 in primary school. At the encouragement of a teacher, her parents put her into formal competition.

“When we lived in Dubbo, she did the school carnival and she kept beating everybody, so we decided to put our kids into little athletics and it went from there,” Telaya’s mother Bec Woolfe said.

Telaya recalled: “When I was in year six when my parents put us all into Little Athletics for a summer sport and I just ran faster and faster every time.”

Within a couple of years, aged 14, Telaya would make her Australian team debut at the Virtus Oceania Asia Games in Brisbane in 2022. Now a resident of Sutherland Shire in Sydney in 2023 Telaya was selected to compete at the Virtus Global Games in Vichy, France.

Telaya was a specialist 100m sprinter and also long jumper, but she faced a challenge – the 100m was not on the program at the Paris Paralympics for her classification – T20.

With a PB of over 61 seconds, she would really need to improve to reach the standard of 59.05 seconds to qualify for the Paralympics.

In February 2024 she dipped under 60 seconds, clocking 59.87. Chasing idea race conditions, competitions that qualify for qualification, Telaya headed to Blacktown mid-week in early March and nailed the standard clocking 58.95 seconds.

“It was good, but challenging as well,” she said o

It was a perfect race with athletes just ahead and behind her.

“It was good to have someone in front of me so I could push myself and get a better time.”

Her selection was far from certain as ideally, she would clock more qualifying marks, but eventually on July 16 she was announced in the athletics team for the Paris Paralympic Games.

“I will be the first person of Warlpiri descent to compete at the Paralympics, it’s a big deal for all my family in the NT. Lots of my cousins, nieces and nephews look up to me and that is something that will be pushing me when I race and the legs start to burn in that last 100m.”

On the world stage in Paris, Teyala was brilliant progressing through the 400m heats with a significant PB time of 57.96. In the final she placed 8th. In the long jump she jumped well for 9th with a distance of 5.21m.

Hometown: remote community of Lajamanu – formerly known as Hooker Creek Native Settlement or just Hooker Creek, it is a small town in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located around 560 km from Katherine and approximately 890 km from Darwin…Community goals: “When I finish my athletics I am hoping to go to the NT schools and start coaching, and how to be stronger and their health,”…Para- classification: T20 and suffers from a neurological disorder she’s had since birth…Education: Year 12 at Endeavour High School in Sydney (in 2025)…Other Sports: Swans AFL Academy members since 2020…Support NRL footballer Latrell Mitchell has financially supported Telaya….Proudest moment: Making the T20 400m final at the Paris Paralympics…Special Achievement: The 16th known indigenous athlete to represent Australia at the Paralympics and at the age of 16…What motivates you to compete: I run and jump for my family because I know it makes them proud…Most influential person in career: My coach Jacinta Doyle, she understands how to get the best out of me…Interesting family fact: My grandfather Peter ‘cowboy’ Blacksmith has an artwork in the National Gallery in Melbourne…Hero: Cathy Freemen and Nova Peris…Hobbies: Friends, music and drawing

@ 16 September 2025 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au