Shannon Winchester

Few athletes in history have enjoyed a faster rise to global athletics than Shannon Winchester.

From a sprint race against a work mate as a joke to seeing Alexa Leary dominate at the Paralympic Games, Winchester looked into Para-athletics this year after suffering a brain injury from a motorbike accident in 2017 – classified through the Future Green & Gold program.

The 100m T38 runner’s international debut will come less than six months after picking up athletics, having to ask his friend how to use blocks moments before their first encounter but soon notching up qualifying times for the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships.

“I started in the sport in March. I’d never worn spikes, never used blocks, arrived at my first race seven minutes before it started and had to face time my friend to ask him how to set up and use the blocks,” Winchester said.

“I’ve lived a big and fun life, with a hell of a lot of good stories to tell, but I’ve done very little that my two-year-old daughter can be truly proud of. This is a chance to compete and achieve something that she can look back on when she’s older and be proud of me for.”

With a personal best of 11.71-seconds to his name, Winchester is already setting himself lofty goals for 2025 and beyond, with his meteoric rise knowing no limits to date:

“I want to podium at Worlds, win gold at Commonwealth Games, and set the T38 World Record at the Paralympics.”

Coached by Vas Krishnan and currently living in Hobart, the self-employed mortgage broker is also a big believer in supporting businesses, domestic abuse survivors and under privileged youth – also studying a Bachelor of Laws at the University of South Australia.