Angela Ballard (born 6 June 1982) is an Australian Paralympic athlete who competes in T53 wheelchair sprint events. She became a paraplegic at age 7 due to a car accident. She began competing in wheelchair racing in 1994, and first represented Australia in 1998. Over six Paralympic Games from 2000 to 2020, she has won four silver and four bronze medals. She has been coached by

Louise Sauvage Alix Louise Sauvage, OAM (born 18 September 1973) is an Australian paralympic wheelchair racer and leading coach. Sauvage is often regarded as the most renowned disabled sportswoman in Australia. She won nine gold and four silver medals at f ...

and trained with

Madison de Rozario Madison de Rozario, (born 24 November 1993) is an Australian Paralympic athlete and wheelchair racer who specialises in middle and long-distance events. She competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, 2008 Beijing, 2012 Summer Paralympics, 2012 Lo ...

. Ballard held athletics scholarships at the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

from 1999 to 2001, and

The University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

(while studying first commerce and then psychology), and also represents the

ACT Academy of Sport The ACT Academy of Sport (ACTAS) was launched in 1989. It is an endorsed Australian Olympic Committee and Australian Paralympic Committee National Training Centre and a member of the National Institutes of Network.usda-z@dc*086613@los-zetas.gmail. ...

. She has been appointed by a number of organisations as a disability or sports ambassador, and currently sits on the board of Wheelchair Sports NSW. She competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics – her seventh Games.

Personal

Ballard was born on 6 June 1982 in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. At the age of seven, she became a ( T10) paraplegic after a car accident, when her mother lost control of the car through fatigue. Following the accident, her initial hospitalisation and rehabilitation was in Canberra for three months, among elderly amputees. Her rehabilitation was then moved to the

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in the suburb of St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney, University of Technol ...

, where she met

Christie Dawes Christie Dawes (née Skelton, born 3 May 1980) is an Australian Paralympic wheelchair racing athlete. She has won three medals in athletics at seven Paralympics from 1996 to 2021. Personal When she was young, Dawes was very interested in athle ...

(née Skelton), who she would later race with in the Australian 4x100 m relay team at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. She attended Lyneham Primary School and

Lyneham High School Lyneham High School is a public secondary school in the Australian capital of Canberra that was founded in 1959. Located in the suburb of Lyneham, it is one of the only large public high schools in the immediate area. The school has a performi ...

in Canberra. Her physical education teacher was one of the people who first encouraged her to participate in wheelchair sports. After her rehabilitation she tried swimming and

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as ...

. Her first experiences of racing at the age of 12 resulted in blisters and a sore neck, but wheelchair athletics soon became her passion. At age 14, after treatment for

scoliosis Scoliosis (: scolioses) is a condition in which a person's Vertebral column, spine has an irregular curve in the coronal plane. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others ...

, Ballard was unable to participate in sport for a year. She was offered a scholarship with the

and she then took up an athletics scholarship at the

in Canberra from 1999 to 2001. In 2002, she moved to Sydney to attend university on a sports scholarship, initially studying commerce. , she was living in Liberty Grove, New South Wales and attending the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

studying for a Bachelor of

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

, with the intention of practising as a psychologist. She graduated and received an Alumni Award in 2014.

Athletics

Ballard is a

wheelchair racing Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and field, track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, including leg amputees, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy. Athletes are c ...

athlete, competing mainly in category T53 sprint events. Compared to T54 athletes, she has less use of her abdominal muscles, which means she cannot raise herself as much in her wheelchair to get the best angle to propel herself forward. Ballard first entered competitive wheelchair races in 1994, at the age of twelve. Her first racing wheelchair was bought second hand. By 1997, she started taking the sport more seriously and began setting records in Australian athletics for her classification. A year later she was representing her country on the international stage. By 2000, she held national records in the T53 100 m and 200 m events. From 2002 she held a sports scholarship at the University of Sydney, where she was coached by

Andrew Dawes Andrew Dawes (February 7, 1940 – October 30, 2022) was a Canadian violinist. He was known for his performances with the Orford String Quartet. Early life and education Dawes was born in High River, Alberta.Curtin Call: A Photographer's Candi ...

(Christie's husband). At the time, Dawes also coached

, and on occasion the two would train together. After Sauvage retired from competitive wheelchair athletics following the 2004 Games, she became Ballard's coach. In 2021, she is coached by Fred Periac.

Paralympics

Ballard competed in Sydney in the

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was the last time that the Summer Paralympics were organized by two different Organ ...

but did not win any medals, placing fourth in both the 100 m and 200 m events; she was also a torch bearer, and featured in the entertainment section of the opening ceremony, where she circled the track in the air, suspended by a blimp and giant inflated angels. In preparation for the 2004 Athens Paralympics, Ballard trained six days a week in 11 sessions. Her training included going to Centennial Park and training on the hills there. It also included track work twice a week and doing weight training at least three times a week. This training schedule caused a few injuries, so she reduced the training frequency for later Games. AustralianParalympianOfTheYear 084

Just before the Games, she competed in a warm up event in Switzerland, and set Australian records in the 100 m, 400 m and 800 m events. At the 2004 games, she won a bronze medal in the T53 100 m, behind

Tanni Grey-Thompson Carys Davina Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, ( Grey; born 26 July 1969), known as Tanni Grey-Thompson, is a Welsh life peeress, television presenter and former wheelchair racer. Athletic career Grey-Thompson started wheelchair racin ...

and Francesca Porcellato. Her goal for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics was to set a personal best, but she also had eyes on a medal. She took the year off her psychology degree to train six times a week. At the 2008 games, along with her teammates Christie Dawes, Madison de Rozario, and Jemima Moore, she achieved her best Paralympic result, winning a silver medal behind China's world record in the T53/54 4x100 m relay. In the individual events, she finished fifth in the women's T53 100 m event (a race won in world record time by

Huang Lisha Huang Lisha (; born September 10, 1988) is a Paralympian athlete from China competing mainly in category T53 wheelchair sprint events. She competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. There she won a gold medal in the women's 100 ...

), seventh in the women's T53 200 m event (also won in a world record time by Huang), seventh in the women's T53 400 m event, and led out the women's 800 m final, eventually finishing sixth. After a couple of sub-par competition results in 2011, Ballard made big changes to her diet, gloves, technique, chair position, and training regime. She entered the

2012 London Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

ranked world number one in both the T53 100 m and 200 m. At the games, Ballard participated in the T53 class events for 100 m, 200 m, 400 m and 800 m events. She won two silver medals in the 200 m and 400 m T53 events, and a bronze medal in the 100 m T53 event. At the

2016 Rio Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 Sept ...

, she won bronze medals in the women's T53 100 m and 400 m. At the

2020 Tokyo Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

, she was a finalist in the women's T53 100 m, 400 m, and 800 m. She came 7th in

100 m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

, 7th in

400 m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

and 7th in

800 m The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event sin ...

. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, she finished sixth in the women's 400 m and 800 m T53 events.

World championships

In August 1998, Ballard competed at the International Paralympic Committee World Championships in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England, where she was part of the gold medal-winning Australian women's 4 x100 m and 4x400 m relay teams. Both relay wins set long-standing world records. In the 2002 World Championships, she won gold in the 100 m. At the

2013 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2013 World Para Athletics Championships, IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 Jul ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France, she won silver medals in the Women's 100 m, Women's 200 m and Women's 800 m T53 and a bronze medal in the 400 m T53. At the

2015 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. The event was the 7th edition of what is now known as the World Para ...

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

, Ballard won gold medals in the Women's 200m T53 in a championship record time of 29.33 and the Women's 400m T53. After winning the 400 m, Ballard said: "This is the one I wanted. I was so nervous coming in, you try and tell yourself that the worst thing that can happen is a loss and starting again tomorrow, but the reality is that this matters so much. I was so scared before the race, perhaps it gave me the adrenalin to get it done. I've just worked so hard for this for so long." She also won a bronze medal in the Women's 800 mm T54 behind gold medallist

. At the

2017 World Para Athletics Championships The 2017 World Para Athletics Championships were a Paralympic athletics, Paralympic track and field meet organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held at London Stadium in London from 14 ...

in London, England, she won the silver medals in the Women's 100 m and 200 m T53 events and finished fourth in the Women's 400 m T53 and sixth in the Women's 800 m T53 . At the

2019 World Para Athletics Championships The 2019 World Para Athletics Championships was a Paralympic athletics, Paralympic track and field event organised by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from ...

, she finished sixth in the Women's 100 m T53 and Women's 400 m T53 and eight in the Women's 800 m. At the

2023 World Para Athletics Championships The 2023 World Para Athletics Championships was a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was the 10th edition of the event and was held in the Charlety St ...

in Paris, she finished fourth in the Women's 800m T53 and sixth in the Women's 400m T53. In the inaugural

Paralympic World Cup The Paralympic World Cup was an annual international multi-sport event for elite athletes with a disability, that was hosted in Manchester, England, from 2005 until 2012. It was announced in 2013, that the Paralympic World Cup had been scraped fo ...

in Manchester in 2005, Ballard placed third in the Women's T53 100 m.

Commonwealth Games

At the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, she finished sixth in the Women's 800m T54. She won the gold medal in the Women's 1500m T54 at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. At the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

at the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

, she won the silver medal in the Women's 1500m T54 finishing behind

. She repeated her 2018 result, by winning the silver medal in Women's 1500m T54 at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

, again behind de Rozario.de Rozario

Australian titles

Ballard won the 100 m women's wheelchair open title in 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2008, and finished second in 2000, 2003, 2010, and 2011. In the 200 m event, she won gold in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2010, silver in 2000 and 2005 and bronze in 2006. In the 400 m, she won gold in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2008 and 2010, silver in 2004 and bronze in 2002 and 2006. In the 800 m, she won gold in 1999 and 2001, silver in 2000 and 2005, and bronze in 2002 and 2004. In the 1500 m, she won gold in 2005 and 2010. In 1999, she competed at Australia's Junior Wheelchair Nationals. She won five gold medals at those games and was named the event's Female Athlete of the Games. Ballard won a gold and silver at the 2011

Sydney Track Classic The Sydney Track Classic is an annual outdoor track and field meeting held in February or March at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, Australia. It is part of the national Australian Athletics ...

. At the 2012 competition, Ballard set personal bests and Oceania records for the 100 m (in a time of 17.27 s), 200 m (30.12 s) and 400 m (56.89 s) events.

Long distance events

Ballard also sometimes competes in longer distance events, in which the disability classifications are usually combined, so she competes against athletes in the higher T54 classification. She represented Australia in the 800 m (T54) at the

, placing 6th in the final. At the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, she won a gold medal in the 1500 m T54. She has also raced in and helped organise the 10 km Oz Day wheelchair race, placing 2nd in 1999, 3rd in 2005, and 3rd in 2012. In 1998, together with Louise Sauvage, Christie Skelton, and Holly Ladmore, she completed an relay from

Byron Bay Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah'') is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of New South Wales, Australia (in Bundjalung Country). It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjac ...

Bondi Beach Bondi Beach () is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of ...

, which raised $200,000 for disabled athletes.

World records

* 29 May 2015 at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in

Nottwil Nottwil is a municipality in the district of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. History Nottwil is first mentioned around 1217-22 as ''Nottewile''. In 1275 it was mentioned as ''Otewile''. Nottwil is also the location where the ...

, Switzerland – Women's 400m T53 world record with a time of 54.73 seconds. * 4 June 2015 at IPC sanctioned Daniela Jutzeler Memorial Para-athletics Meet,

Arbon Arbon is a historic town and a municipality and district capital of the district of Arbon in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Arbon is located on the southern shore of Lake Constance, on a railway line between Konstanz/Romanshorn and ...

, Switzerland – Women's 400m T53 world record with a time of 54.70 * 4 June 2015 at IPC sanctioned Daniela Jutzeler Memorial Para-athletics Meet,

, Switzerland – Women's 800m T53 world record with a time of 1:47.48. * 5 June 2016 at Indy Invitational Meet in Indianapolis, USA – Women's 400m T53 world record with a time of 54.69.

Advocacy and patronage

Ballard has been appointed as an ambassador or advocate by a number of organisations with an interest in people with disabilities, sport, health, or exercise. In 2000, she was selected for Team MAA ( Motor Accidents Authority), to discuss road trauma with other young people. In 2005, she was appointed as an ambassador for Technical Aid to the Disabled. She helped recruit volunteers, attended fundraisers, posed for photos and showed them her medal. Later that year she also visited patients at the Westmead Children's Hospital alongside a number of celebrities to help them celebrate Christmas. In 2007 Ballard was chosen as an ambassador for

Walk to Work Day Walk to Work Day is an annual, national event in Australia encouraging people to walk to work. The event is an initiative of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, and supported by the Australian Government. In 2015, it was held on Friday 13 Novem ...

. She is on the board of the Wheelchair Sports Association of New South Wales. Alongside a number of other university-affiliated athletes, Ballard attended a press conference to oppose the introduction of

Voluntary Student Unionism Voluntary student unionism (VSU), as it is known in Australia, or voluntary student membership (VSM), as it is known in New Zealand, is a policy under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations ...

Recognition

* 1999 –

Athlete of the year in the Disabled Category * 2013 and 2014 –

Athletics Australia Australian Athletics is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Australian Sports Commission for the sport of athletics in Australia. Founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 reg ...

Female Para-Athlete of the Year * October 2014 – Awarded the Nigel C Barker Graduate Medal for Sporting Achievement by a recent graduate of the

. * 2024 – Co-captain with

Curtis McGrath Curtis Wain McGrath, (born 31 March 1988) is an Australian paracanoeist and former soldier. He took up canoeing competitively after both of his legs were amputated as a result of a mine blast while serving with the Australian Army in War in Af ...

– Australian Team at the 2024 Paris Paralympics

References

External links

Angela Ballard
at

Australian Athletics Australian Athletics is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Australian Sports Commission for the sport of athletics in Australia. Founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 reg ...