McCracken back at best ahead of Australian Wheelchair Championships

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Returning to action after Paralympic bronze in Paris, the wheels are turning for Rheed McCracken. His year won’t be defined by next week’s 2025 Australian Wheelchair Championships, but the experienced campaigner knows the importance of momentum.

Reflecting on his fourth Paralympic Games after making his debut as a 15-year-old at London 2012, a candid McCracken admits he is not immune to the post-Games slump. He speaks of a tradeoff between a craving to be back at his best and the rest required to ensure it is sustainable.

“You come off that high and you just want to get straight back into it, but it just burns you. I have given myself a chance to relax and not stress too much about letting fitness go, because you can always get that back in time,” McCracken says.

“You have to find goals that satisfy you again because nothing really compares to the Paralympics.”

McCracken will be one of the biggest names at the 2025 Australian Wheelchair Championships at the Australian Institute of Sport from January 21-23, with the 27-year-old hoping to flex his form before jetting to Dubai later this month – all in a bid to build on his momentum of 2024.

“I want to start my season off well. I’m in a new racing chair and this will be my first competition in it which is always a bit of a test. Of course, everyone wants to win national titles,” McCracken says.

“You have that memory in the back of your mind of how fit you felt at the Paralympics and you just want to get back to that, but it takes time and the World Championships are in September.”

Those World Para Athletics Championships will take place in New Delhi, India where McCracken will look to earn another opportunity to stamp his presence as a global contender after an uncharacteristic 2023 World Championships campaign in Paris.

“I didn’t go into the 2023 World Championships with the right attitude; for myself or the support team who put time and energy into me. I needed that experience to come back and put it all together in 2024,” McCracken says.

“It was a really tough year for me both in and out of the sport, and I had to work hard with my whole team to make 2024 a better year.”

McCracken’s sixth Paralympic medal in Paris was his first slice of redemption in the 800m T34 after a near miss saw him finish fourth in the 100m T34, rewarding his work under Paralympic legend Louise Sauvage in Sydney having previously been coached by Andrew Dawes in Newcastle.

“Everyone says that every medal is amazing, but for me, that Paris medal is really special. I changed a lot from Tokyo to Paris. Lou [Sauvage] took me on and gave me a chance, and I really wanted to well for her as well,” McCracken says.

“I was just waiting for my name to come up on the board and I don’t know what I would have done if I was fourth again. I guess we’ll never know.”

Set to race in the 100m, 400m and 800m events at the Australian Wheelchair Championships, McCracken knows that his work on the world stage is far from finished, and neither are his trademark tattoos:

“I still add bits and pieces, I’m trying to find space for more. I love tattoos and have grown up around them. It’s a way to express yourself and I’ll keep adding things as I go. At this rate I will probably end up tattooing on top of tattoos.”

The 2025 Australian Wheelchair Championships will take place as part of the Summer Down Under Program at the Australian Institute of Sport from January 21-23.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted 17/01/2025

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