DE ROZARIO SET TO FLY THE FLAG FOR AUSTRALIA

Published Fri 23 Aug 2024

From Beijing 2008 to Paris 2024, Madison de Rozario has been there through it all. Starting her paralympic career at just 14 years of age, the wheelchair athlete never imagined she’d be launching her fifth Paralympic Games as the Australian flag bearer.

De Rozario’s (Louise Sauvage) athletics career on the track is unmatched and very quickly becoming insurmountable. The West Australian boasts 20 major championship medals, including nine golds. She is a 10-time winner of the Oz Day 10K Wheelchair Road Race, as well as wins at both the New York City and London Marathon.

But for de Rozario, reflecting on the past 17 years of competing in para-sport isn’t just about recognising the success she has had on the track, but also celebrating the incredible growth she has witnessed in para-sports.

“To now see what the Paralympics means, it is so different and it so exciting to be still racing while that is happening but to also be in a leadership role on the team and see how it has been shaped,” de Rozario said.

“It is so exciting to know that anyone that debuts in Paris, their idea of the Paralympics is going to look so different to mine and that is what we want. It signifies how much we have changed and that’s very exciting.”

Announced as the flag bearer alongside Paralympic Swimmer Brenden Hall, de Rozario describes the honour as ‘an overwhelming experience.”

“It is so rare that you get to take a step back and see what the bigger picture really does look like. I think there are certain moments like this where you get to see the impact that the Paralympics has, and the impact that individual athletes have on each other within the team.”

For a majority of her career the Olympic gold medalist was heavily focused on her own journey and often didn’t think of the impact that she had on others. But over the last few years De Rozario has expanded her outlook to see the role she can play in challenging boundaries and inspiring on a global stage.

“I think about the people that shaped my career throughout the 18 years of it and it was individuals in moments when they would not have even realized they had the impact that they had.”

“When you do get a responsibility like this, you are kind of forced to recognize that maybe you do occupy that space in other people’s lives.”

Heading into the 2016 Rio Paralympics, de Rozario began to build a platform and had a realization that it “would be an enormous waste if I didn’t use it for all the right things.”

“I think there was an idea at the time that if I am going to be in a position [like this], it would be a waste if I didn’t use it properly.

Now a fierce advocate for para-athletes, De Rozario continues to use her presence off the track to influence change by advocating for genuine and authentic diversity throughout society, with a specific focus on people with a disability.

The 2024 Paris Paralympic Games are set to take place from the 29th of August to the 8th of September, with the athletics action getting underway from the 30th.     

To follow Madison’s journey and stay up to date with the Paris Paralympic schedules, results and updates, follow the Athletics West Facebook and Instagram pages.     