House debates

Monday, 21 November 2016

Statements by Members

Wright Electorate: Rio 2016 Paralympics Medallist

1:37 pm

Photo of Scott BuchholzScott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I rise to shine a spotlight on a local Paralympian in my electorate. Claire Keefer is a 21-year-old short-statured athlete from Withcott in my electorate who recently competed in the Rio 2016 Paralympics. She competes in two events—both the shot-put and the discus. Before going to Rio, Claire spoke to some of the local journalists and said that she was looking to land a personal best and land a medal. Fortuitously, she was able to achieve both of those goals. She won bronze in her F41 shot-put with a huge PB—a half a metre better than anything she had thrown before. She said the noisy Brazilian crowd threw her a little at first but then she fed off the crowd in her rounds and came away with an incredible result.

The road to Rio was especially long for Claire, who had qualified for London four years prior to Rio but she was too young to compete, being aged only 16.    She trains six times a week, including sessions at the Queensland Academy of Sport. This is an enormous contribution, as she has to travel over two hours to go to that training. Claire is already looking to the future and is firmly focused on Tokyo 2020. It is an honour for me to take this opportunity to put a focus on Claire for her contribution to the sport and for the incredible contribution that she makes to the community. She is an absolute credit to herself and to her family, and those who know her revere her for her enormous talent.