After a series of stunning gold medal performances in 2018, Madison de Rozario continues to prove why she is one of the most promising young athletes in wheelchair racing. At her Commonwealth Games debut on the Gold Coast, she put the world on notice in the women's 1500m T54 final, launching a decisive attack with 300m to go to win gold, before pushing to a 13-second lead in the women's marathon T54 to make it two from two.
Over the following six weeks, Madison became the first Australian to win the elite women's wheelchair race at the London Marathon, and collected a hat-trick of gold medals at the World Para-athletics Grand Prix in Nottwil, Switzerland, where she equalled the women's 1500m T53/54 world record set by Tatyana McFadden (USA).
Madison, who was first encouraged to begin wheelchair racing by Australian Paralympics Hall of Fame inductee Frank Ponta, made her Paralympic debut more than 10 years ago as the youngest athlete on the Australian Paralympic Team.
In 2018 Madison was awarded Cosmopolitan Sportswoman of the Year, Outstanding Sporting Achievement for UnioSport Australia and Athletics Australia Female Para-Athlete of the Year. With three Paralympic appearances and three Paralympic silver medals now under her belt, and as the reigning world champion in the women's 5000m T53, Madison has never been more ready to contest gold at the Paralympic Games.
In 2022 Madison was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her service to sport as a gold medallist at the Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020.
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Madison de Rozario: "We hold disability to this ridiculously high standard" | One Plus One
Madison de Rozario is an athlete at the top of her game. The wheelchair racer is a World Champion, Commonwealth Games Champion, Paralympic Champion, and the winner of the New York and London marathons. She talks to Kurt Fearnley about the way the world sees disability, her struggles with identity, and winning gold in Tokyo.
