Evan O’Hanlon has been stirring the competitive juices within for more than a decade but he is on the verge of something quite extraordinary at the 9th World Para-Athletics Championships in Dubai this month.
He is competing at his fifth world titles since his first in 2006 at Assen in the Netherlands.
“It can be difficult to keep motivated after such a long time. For me, over the past four years I thought about retirement a couple of times,” the 31-year-old said, who is based in Europe with his Czech wife, Zuzi. The couple are due to have their second child next March.
O’Hanlon has actually set himself a new target of making the Australian Olympic bobsled team for the 2022 Winter Games in China as a way to freshen up his routines.
“It adds a different element to my training so it gives me another dimension to my motivation,” he said.
But right now he is in Dubai and history beckons for the man who has five Summer Paralympic Games gold medals from the track, and eight World Championship golds.
Finishing at the top of the podium in Dubai would make him the greatest male gold medal winner in Australian Para-Athletics. Louise Sauvage (11 gold) is the leading female.
However, the accolades don’t stop there. O’Hanlon has won the T38 100m final in his cerebral palsy class three times – 2011, 2013 and 2017 worlds. A fourth would cement his reputation as Australia’s premier sprinter.
“Paralympic sport has come a long way since I started. The big thing for me is the whole team is now such a professional outfit.
“Back in the day there was some really stand-out athletes training at an elite level. But now pretty much everybody in the Australian team is an elite athlete, training full-time and doing everything they can to bring back a medal.
“And in the back of my mind, I know I’ve got to keep the good results coming so I can keep my funding as that’s the way I earn my livelihood.
“Putting that to one side, I’m looking forward to racing, the nerves, the adrenalin as I really enjoy that feeling.”
There was a small injury hiccup in O’Hanlon’s build-up to Dubai, but he’s worked hard to overcome it and he’s ready to run.
“No-one has the perfect preparation. I had a small tear in my hamstring a couple of months ago so I had to come back to Australia early,” he said.
“But I’ve pretty much had a good prep and I feel like I’m running fast. The aim is to retain my crown.”
O’Hanlon’s heats are on the morning of Day 5, Monday November 11. The final will be held later that night.
-ENDS
Michael Angus
michael.angus@athletics.org.au
Margie McDonald
mcdonaldmargie58@gmail.com
