PARA surfing champion Joel Taylor has set his sights on winning a third world title when he represents Australia in international competition later this year.<\/p>\n
Taylor, 45, is fresh off his latest triumph which saw him win a third Australian title at Byron Bay.<\/p>\n
The result saw him gain automatic qualification for ISA World Para Surfing Championships.<\/p>\n
It will see the Lennox Head surfer travel to Europe or the United States to compete in the prone 1 division.<\/p>\n
Taylor has been confined to a wheelchair since a surfing accident in 2001 and started surfing competitively in the para division five years ago.<\/p>\n
“I’d been working pretty hard and I stripped back what competitions I was doing this year, so my main focus was on the Australian titles,” he said.<\/p>\n
“The direct qualification is great; I don’t have to worry about a wildcard entry or anything else until later in the year now.”<\/p>\n
Taylor was the only member of the Australian team to win a gold medal at the championships last year.<\/p>\n
He said Australia sends a smaller team compared to other countries and they hope to be crowned overall team champions this year.<\/p>\n
The Byron Bay event helped shine a light on the upcoming surfers, with countries including Japan, Italy and Canada involved, as well as a steady rise in Australian representation.<\/p>\n
“It was cool because it’s the same sort of crew and then a bunch of new faces we’ve never seen,” Taylor said.<\/p>\n
“Every world title event I’ve been to, there’s more countries getting involved. It’s growing worldwide.”<\/p>\n
Part of competing in the sport has seen the surfers advocate for additional funding and for inclusion into the Paralympic Games.<\/p>\n
It will not be part of the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, however there has been continued momentum and support to see it included at Brisbane in 2032.<\/p>\n
Taylor trains six days a week and still has plenty of determination to be part of the Australian team.<\/p>\n
“That’s sort of the main goal for the sport at the moment,” he said. “Surfing Australia is really pushing it, and hopefully it happens for Brisbane.<\/p>\n
“I just want to take every opportunity I can and keep pushing towards another world title for Australia.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARA surfing champion Joel Taylor has set his sights on winning a third world title when he represents Australia in international competition later this year. Taylor, 45, is fresh off his latest triumph which saw him win a third Australian title at Byron Bay. The result saw him gain automatic qualification for ISA World Para […]<\/p>\n