Patetonga-raised parathlete Danielle Aitchison says she’s “really proud” of her recent sprinting success in Brisbane and now eyes the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris in June.
The 21-year-old Paralympic Games medalist told The Profile she achieved gold in the 100m with a time of 14.21 seconds and silver in the 200m with a time of 29.76 seconds at the Chemist Warehouse Australian Open, held between March 30 and April 2.
“I was really happy and I’m really proud of myself, and then to also get gold medals is the icing on the cake,” she said.
“It’s always so close between the girls who get gold, silver and bronze, so it’s always a little competition to see who can get it.”
Danielle, who grew up in Patetonga and is currently in her final semester of a social science degree at the University of Waikato, also competed at the Brisbane Track Classic on March 25, achieving sixth place in the 100m with a time of 14.19 seconds.
“I was really proud of how I ran over there in the Brisbane Track Classic, and then having the [Australian Open] the following weekend was more around testing the recovery strategy,” she said.
“[The Australian Open] was a good opportunity for me to run a heat and run a final on the same day because when I do world championships in Paris, I will have heats and finals.
“It was just about making sure I’m comfortable and confident going forward in that situation.” Danielle, who has cerebral palsy which causes her to have balance issues, fatigue, and muscle tone loss, said she was selected to compete in the Australian Open after achieving gold medals in the 100m and 200m at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships in March.
“I had been doing a few tweaks with my form and technique, so with the way that I ran at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships I was really ecstatic… and to hear the times that I got was the highlight of my season,” she said.
Danielle achieved 13.95 seconds in the 100m and 29.46 seconds in the 200m.
Danielle said she will now spend the next two months training before jetting to Paris for the World Para Athletics Championships where she hopes to qualify for the Paris Paralympics which take place next year.
“I do strength and conditioning workouts at the High Performance Centre in Cambridge, and I also do some prehab which is to help work those muscles that need a little bit more extra care and attention.
“I’m also doing some track workouts which can be a variation of on the track and on the grass, and doing circuits.”
