Losing both legs as a 15-year-old girl, it took Vanessa Low a decade to truly shift her focus from what she had lost to what she could gain. The four-time world champion might stand on prosthetics but runs on perspectives years in the making.
History will forever show that the Low leapt to her fourth world title in New Delhi last month to go with her three Paralympic crowns, but the world record holder tells a slightly different story – jumping 5.49m (+0.5) to fall well short of her six-metre ambitions.
“The result you walk away with doesn’t always reflect how you feel. I was probably happier with the bronze medal at the Paris 2023 World Championships than the gold at this one, because it represented how proud I was at the time of becoming a Mum,” Low says.
“Maybe if I jumped this really big milestone and finished with the gold, it would have been difficult to come back and really attack it again – to push myself to become better. In that sense, it has left us with something to chase.”
With every record and triumph, Low’s story seemingly gets further away from the hardship endured to get there. At the age of 15, she was struck by a train and had both legs amputated, with doctors doubtful she would ever walk again.
“A lot of people in Australia would have only ever seen me win medals because they missed the first part of my journey. It was a lot of work and I wasn’t successful straight away,” Low says.
“My preparation for the Rio Games was the therapy that I never had post my accident. Sport became a vehicle for me to find a sense of security in my own body, belonging in this world and how I wish to contribute to society.”
Named as a team leader for Australia’s 2025 World Para Athletics Championships campaign which featured 24 debutants, Low’s experience and success had an immediate influence on the emerging group, who exchanged excitement for wisdom with the Paralympic star.
“A lot of the junior athletes thought it was so cool to hang out with us senior athletes, but it was quite the opposite. We really soaked up that excitement and energy of realising what it means to be a Para-athlete for the first time,” Low says.
“For a lot of the youngsters growing up with disabilities, it can be really hard to find that sense of identity and where they fit into the big puzzle. Hopefully this team has shown them that they have a place in this world and in the Paralympic family.
“In retrospect, it was probably a good 10 years before I truly found out who I was through sport. I’m really excited to see how they transform as athletes but also people.”
The 35-year-old is extending her passion and knowledge beyond the Australian team, elected to three of the most influential roles in global para sport; Chairperson of the World Para Athletics Athletes’ Committee, a member of the WPA Sport Committee through her role in the Athletes’ Committee, and a board member of the World Para Sport Unit.
“It’s the biggest sport at the Paralympic Games and it’s the one that people see when they turn it on. It has the space for the most disabilities and the greatest representation, so if we get that right, it gives a lot of people a place to belong,” Low says.
“The more competitive the fields are, the more attractive it is to watch. I’ve always offered my competitors expertise and training opportunities over the years, because I really want this to be the sport that I know we can be and are so close to being.”
With her world record standing at 5.71m and both the six-metre marker and Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games in her sights, Low’s legacy is only set to grow stronger as one of the all-time greats – under the watchful eye of husband and coach Scott Reardon and son Matteo.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 20/10/2025
