Akeesha Snowden

Biography

Adelaide’s Akeesha Snowden makes her senior Australian debut at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in India. The 20-year-old will have a large program, competing in the Cerebral Palsy T37 sprint treble.

Akeesha was a keen swimmer and basketballer, but about 10 years ago during a hospital stay, a talent pathway program recommended to her mother to try athletics. “I instantly fell in love. Since that first year as I have grown up and matured I find I enjoy the process of being a sprinter, really focusing on that 1% that change the outcome of a season or race, is incredibly rewarding and special. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else I truly love the sport.”

Early in her career Akeesha Snowden represented Australia at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.  At the under-18 competition she won bronze in the T38 100m clocking 14.53 seconds.

She started this season chasing qualifiers for the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships. Having never represented Australia as a senior athlete she was eligible to target the newly introduced Athletics Australia developing standards, and for Akeesha they were 14.50 (100m), 30.20 (200m) and 71.80 (400m). Starting the season with lifetimes bests of 14.10, 28.86 and 68.72, it looked an achievable task, but some of Akeesha’s PB dated back a couple of years.

At the ACT Championships in January she nailed two qualifiers, 14.21 (100m) and a breakthrough 400m time of 68.00. She was certainly on her way to a terrific season. Akeesha would go on to achieve 12 qualifiers across the sprint treble as she lowered, her lifetime bests recording marks of 13.77 (100m), 28.52 (200m) and 66.21 (400m). The two later times were achieved at the Australian Championships in Perth, where she was the leading T37 athletes across the sprint treble.

She rates her 100m PB of 13.77 as special. “My proudest moment personally was breaking the Australian T37 100m record on the same track (Adelaide) I started athletics on 10-years ago. It was a time I had been chasing for so many years and to do it on the home track like that was super special everyone that I would have wanted was there and it was a full circle moment I’m really proud of.”

Akeesha also has the 200m record of 28.42 in her sights, as her PB of 28.52, was clocked into a strong 1.6m/s wind.

About her disability: “I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when I was two. It affects the muscles in my right limbs causing them to be tight. In competition I have worked extremely hard in the last decade to reduce its impact to a minimum, but it still sometimes hurts to do a training session especially once I start to fatigue as my muscles really become quite stiff. My coordination can be very bad at times and I get tired much easier than those without CP. In my day-to-day life it is very much the same I manage it the best way I can and have gotten used to somethings just having to be done differently then others. But I definitely see the difference more on the track than my everyday life.”

Goals: “Making a major championship final and winning gold at a Paralympics. I want to do little me proud she never believed something wasn’t possible just because of her Cerebral Palsy and I owe it to myself to live out her dreams. But I also want to show the next generation that the sky is not the limit & you can do whatever you set your heart & mind to. Plenty of people will say it’s not possible because we have a disability, I want to be the proof that it is possible.”

Biggest challenge overcame: “In 2021 I tore two tendons in my right foot (my CP effected) the rehab for it was extremely difficult, slow and painful. Knowing I had injured my right foot I knew it was going to be hard to regain the strength, muscle tone and speed back. It took about two years to run consistently times I was happy with and to start seeing improvement again. That time was tough because we just didn’t know how it was going to go.”

Hero: “Dylan Alcott. The career he has had is nothing short of extraordinary and he carries himself so well. It’s something I really inspire to be. Completely & unapologetically yourself. I own his book and continue to re-read it often. Everything he has achieved and what he has done for the para space is something that I hope I can translate to the track & field space while also just having such incredible performances.”

Who has been the most influential person in your career: “Off the track and on the track, my mum and grandma. I would not be anywhere near the woman or athlete I am without them and they have supported my entire career from a dream to now what I hope is a career we can all be proud of. Countless hours have been devoted to my endeavours in the sport and I think growing up watching how both of them are such amazing hardworking dedicated & loving women who are willing to speak their minds, stand up for themselves etc is something I carry with me every time I step on the track.”

Advice to your younger self: “Be You. Unapologetically yourself and dream big we don’t know what is possible unless we go for it. You have got this!”…Hobbies: mini golf…Education: studying to acquire real estate and property management licenses…Coach: Lynn Larsen

@ 21 July 2025 David.tarbotton@athletics.org.au