A three-time Paralympic champion and world record holder, Vanessa Low has soared to the highest levels of para athletics. Now she’s making her biggest leap yet: channeling her influence to lead and make change in the global para sport movement.
Low has been 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.
An unprecedented trifecta that has the power and influence to make change, it’s a position Low doesn’t take lightly:
“It was a big compliment,” she says. “Especially the first position on the Athletes’ Committee — that was an elected role. My peers chose me to represent them, and it gave me belief that I’m someone who not only knows a lot of people, but someone who listens and passes on others’ voices too.”
She’s clear about her mission: “I’ve always wanted to leave the sport better than I found it. Now I’ve found allies to actually do that.”
Across the committees, Low is doing the work few athletes ever see, let alone volunteer for. Whether it’s rule changes, competition structures, classification system challenges or representation frameworks, she’s in the room, shaping the future of para sport with athletes at the centre.
“As Chair of the Athletes’ Committee, we’re creating ways to listen. We’ve just launched a new anonymous form so athletes can raise concerns safely, from anywhere in the world. That feedback helps us go to World Para Athletics and say, ‘Here’s what’s really happening’.”
It’s not always about her experience, and that’s the point.
“Sometimes what comes up doesn’t align with what I’ve been through. But if I’ve heard enough people say it’s a problem, then we have to find a way to act. That’s hard when you sometimes have to put your own views second, but it’s what real advocacy looks like.”
Low’s additional role on the Sport Committee, earned through her position as Chairperson, gives her direct influence on decisions that many athletes might tune out: qualification standards, event formats, classification rules.
“I know a lot of people find it boring,” she says. “But this is where change happens. Understanding the frameworks helps me explain things better, not just from a management perspective, but as an athlete who’s taken the time to learn the system,” she says.
Geography adds another layer. Low says the committee’s regional representation, with voices from each continent, ensures the conversation isn’t dominated by Western perspectives.
“There’ve been so many times I thought, ‘This is a clear decision,’ and then someone says, ‘We can’t do that in our country.’ That shifts your thinking. It reminds me of what my mum always said: once you understand someone’s story, you can like any person.”
It’s this mix of conviction and compassion that defines her leadership. She speaks candidly about conflict, compromise, and the need to keep moving forward even when voices clash.
Beyond athletics, Low also sits on the World Para Sport Unit Board as an athlete representative, an entity created to oversee the process of transfer of governance of the sports that the International Paralympic Committee currently acts as the international federations for.
“We’re moving from a movement to a professional product. There’s money in it, there are broadcast rights, ticket sales. But the power is still in the visibility. When para sport does well, it has a flow-on effect for the entire disability community.”
For all the global momentum, Low says the biggest gap remains what happens between Paralympic Games.
“We go from Games to Games, and then we’re sometimes forgotten in the middle. We need to build the ‘in-between’ – the Grand Prix circuit, showcase events, more access. That’s the next step.”
And the legacy she wants to leave?
“I want to be known as someone who listened. Someone who lived what they believed. Kind — but not afraid to speak up. Because if we get this right, para sport doesn’t just grow. It lifts the whole system.”
By Sascha Ryner, Australian Athletics
Posted 5/5/2025
