ATHLETES TO WATCH

Q People here in Cairns know hometown hero Grant ‘Scooter’ Patterson but is there any other Para athletes we should be on the lookout for during the 2018 Para Pan Pacs? A We have six individual Paralympic gold medallists in our team of 35 and a few more if we are talking about relays. Blake Cochrane is a 100m breaststroker and won gold in London and silver in Rio. He is on his way back to getting to the podium in Tokyo. Ellie Cole is a back to back gold medallist in the 100m backstroke in London and Rio and also medalled in our events. Brenden Hall is a leg amputee and competes in the 100m freestyle and backstroke but his main event is the 400m individual medley. Lakeisha Patterson is another one as well as Rachael Watson, who is a wheelchair-based athlete. Rachael is one of our most physically-impaired athletes on the team and is a gold medallist in the 50m freestyle in Rio. Rachael’s journey in swimming has been very successful over the last few years. She has a very strong upper body but has no movement in her legs. Her training has made her become more independent as a person away from the pool. Tim Disken (pictured) is another to keep an eye on. Disken should win multiple medals in Cairns. Q I read that you recited the Athletes Oath at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. That would have been an amazing experience? A It was incredible to do that at a home Commonwealth Games at the MCG. It is something that I will certainly treasure forever because opportunities like that do not come up every day.