Photo: Alexander McKillop (L) and Shannon Winchester (R)
Tasmania is sprinting towards more representation at the elite level of para sport.
Tasmanian Institute of Sport-supported athletes Shannon Winchester and Alexander McKillop have been named in the Australian team for this year’s World Para Athletics Championships and will both contest 100 metre races.
Classified as a T36 athlete with cerebral palsy, McKillop is already in his ninth year as a para-athlete at the age of just 23, while 35-year-old Winchester is a virtual newcomer having only recently been classified T38 for athletes with coordination impairments.
The Australian team convened in Brisbane this week for a training camp and official team announcement. They will have a final training camp in Dubai before heading to New Delhi, India, to contest the championships from September 26 to October 5.
An investment of $54.9 million over the next two years will see Australian para-sport funding double in the lead-up to Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane four years later.
Since Australia’s last home Paralympics in 2000, Tasmania has had six Paralympians in rower Dominic Monypenny (2008), sailor Matt Bugg (2012 and ’16), shot putter Todd Hodgetts (2012, ’16 and ’20), runner Deon Kenzie (2016 and ’20), swimmer Jacob Templeton (2016) and rower Alexandra Viney (2020 and ’24).
Shannon Winchester
World Championship qualification has been a whirlwind of emotions for Shannon Winchester, who was nearly killed in a motorcycle accident in 2017 but confirmed his ticket to New Delhi in dramatic circumstances last month.
“It’s been an amazing journey and a hell of a story,” he said.
“Suddenly I’ve gone from being a 35-year-old dad who has been in the sport for six weeks to wearing the green and gold on the world stage."
“It’s been a crazy adventure. I’ll ride it as long as I can because I’m not going to get a lot more of these opportunities.”
A footballer and former high school runner, Winchester only became aware of a para sport pathway after watching swimmer Alexa Leary becoming a dual gold medallist at last year’s Paralympic Games in Paris.
“One of the first things everyone asks when you watch someone like that in para sport is: how does she even qualify?” he said. “It got me curious, I looked into her background and learned she’d had an accident which led to a brain injury and that’s what happened to me.”
In September 2017, a motorbike accident in Bali left Winchester with a traumatic brain injury. Emergency brain surgery saved his life, but he had to learn to walk again and has since been diagnosed with the neurological condition ataxia which is characterised by a lack of muscle coordination leading to difficulties with movement and balance.
A week after the Paralympics, the finance broker and father-of-one attended an Australian Athletics classification day at the Domain followed by a Future Green and Gold come-and-try day.
Despite a mix-up over start times which afforded him just a two-minute warm-up, Winchester’s second 100m race saw him record 11.85 seconds, equal to the Australian Athletics qualification standard for the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships.
The TIS set him up with Sydney-based coach Vasanth (Vas) Krishnan, but time was running out to set the required second qualifying time. After being thwarted by a strained hamstring and bad weather on consecutive weekends in Sydney and the Gold Coast, Winchester discovered he had one last opportunity to race in Perth and duly clocked 11.71 s despite running into a 0.4m-per-second headwind.
“The next day I was told I would be going on a training camp with the Australian team in Brisbane the following week and going to represent Australia at worlds in India in two months,” he said.
“This is how contestants on Australian Idol must feel. One day I’m a regular guy, the next I’m a professional athlete being helped by the best coaches in the country."
“I learned how to use blocks properly and why the spikes I’d bought were terrible and everything I knew about running was wrong. There’s a lot of technical details, it’s not just turn up and run as fast as you can."
“Vas has projections that I could be running 11.5 so I still think there’s huge room for improvement and hopefully at worlds I could be doing 11.2 or 11.3. Depending on conditions that could have me pushing for the podium. It might be delusionally optimistic for someone who’s been in the sport for a couple of months to think they could be the best in the world, but I’m a delusionally optimistic type of guy so why can’t I?"
“I’ve gone from being a regular guy who rolled off the couch to living a professional athlete lifestyle, which is what you dream about as a kid, but taking it on as a father and business owner at 35 is a big hurdle.”
Born in Victoria, Winchester grew up in South Australia. He moved to Hobart in July 2023 and is registered with University of Tasmania Athletics Club.
Alexander McKillop
Alexander McKillop’s World Championship qualification represents the culmination of a decade-long journey which had its fair share of disappointment.
Having fallen foul of quota spots and qualification periods in the past, the 23-year-old former Guilford Young student from Margate is elated to have finally booked his place at a major championship.
“It’s very exciting because it has been a long journey and I’ve been working for this for a long time,” he said.
“I feel very privileged and honoured. I’ve had challenges over the years but the hard work and dedication has got me there.”
McKillop, who is coached by Rosie Coleman at Hobart’s OVA Athletics Club, has Jouberts Syndrome, which affects his coordination and balance, and also has an intellectual disability and vision impairment.
Initially going to the Domain to watch his brother Nathan run, McKillop was soon getting involved himself and swiftly transitioned from distance running to sprinting.
He represented Australia at the Melanesian Games in Vanuatu (2018), the Arafura Games (2019), and Oceania Athletics Championships (2022 and ’24). In the ambulant events at last year’s Australian Championships, he won gold in the 200m and bronze in the 100m.
At the 2019 Tasmanian All-Schools Championships in Launceston, McKillop’s time of 12.58 was inside the stipulated 12.70 Paralympic B-qualification standard, but a month outside the qualifying period.
Five years later he achieved one of the two required times for the Paris Paralympics but unfortunately did not record the second required standard within the qualification window to be eligible for selection.
“It was devastating but knowing I was that close I knew in the future I could eventually make it,” he recalled. “That was really hard, but I never gave up.”
This year there was no denying McKillop who bettered the required Australian Athletics qualification time for the World Para Championships of 12.95 with results of 12.46 (+1.8) and 12.30 (+0.5).
Having also dealt with the death of his father John three-and-a-half years ago, McKillop is grateful to his coach for supporting his passage to India.
“Rosie has taught me how to run and about believing in myself,” he said.
Coleman said the appreciation and respect are mutual.
“When he came to me I said ‘what do you want to do?’ and he said ‘I want to be an Olympic sprinter’ and here we are,” she said. “Considering he couldn’t walk until he was six or seven, from where he’s come from, I think is admirable. He’s had to deal with a few traumas."
“With his determination he never quits and that makes him easier to coach. He’s so resilient, a lot more than people realise. He never gave up - most athletes would after 10 years but he’s continued to get stronger."
“I’m in awe of him every single day. I think he’s definitely capable of getting into the final and, if he gets there, anything is possible. I believe he can be top-six at least, especially if he does a 12.16 again or better.”
Written by Rob Shaw