WORLD and Paralympic wheelchair racing champion Richard Coleman was at the Buninyong Little Athletics Centre last week to share his experiences with club members.<\/p>\n
The visit was part of an initiative by Little Athletics Victoria to bring sporting stars to local clubs.<\/p>\n
Coleman was born with Spina Bifida and has been involved in many sports from a young age.<\/p>\n
He is currently the Australian and Oceania record holder the T53 class over the 200, 400 and 800-metre distances.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really important for me to be back involved because I started in Little Aths in under 11s and it gave me the option to do what I\u2019ve done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gave me the option to be treated equally as just another athlete, there was no segregation or separation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now Coleman said he wants to share his experience to encourage other young athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of kids who don\u2019t do sport, so I\u2019m trying to get as many kids involved in sport as possible so they see they can be successful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want the kids to be confident to have a go, be involved, enjoy the experience and have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buninyong Little Athletics committee member Gabby Allen said the afternoon was a source of inspiration for local competitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt shows the kids that anything is possible and it doesn\u2019t matter what physical state you\u2019re in, you can achieve your goals as long as you work hard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that they felt inspired by learning about his achievements and I think at a club level it highlights how important athletics is especially to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WORLD and Paralympic wheelchair racing champion Richard Coleman was at the Buninyong Little Athletics Centre last week to share his experiences with club members. The visit was part of an initiative by Little Athletics Victoria to bring sporting stars to local clubs. Coleman was born with Spina Bifida and has been involved in many sports […]<\/p>\n