Rheed McCracken

Rheed McCracken

2016 Australian Paralympic Team Portrait
Personal information
Nationality Australia
Born (1997-01-20) 20 January 1997
Bundaberg, Queensland
Sport
Country  Australia
Sport Athletics
Disability cerebral palsy
Event(s) T34 - 100 metres
T34 - 200 metres
T34 - 400 metres
T34 - 800 metres
Club Bundaberg Athletic Club
Medal record
Track and field
Paralympic Games
2012 London Men's 100 m T34
2016 Rio Men's 100 m T34
2012 London Men's 200 m T34
2016 Rio Men's 800 m T34
IPC Athletics World Championships
2013 Lyon Men's 100 m T34
2013 Lyon Men's 200 m T34
2013 Lyon Men's 400 m T34
2013 Lyon Men's 800 m T34

Rheed McCracken (born 20 January 1997) is an Australian Paralympic athletics competitor. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, he won a silver and bronze medal in T34 athletics events. His success led him to be named the 2012 Junior Athlete of the Year as part of the Australian Paralympian of the Year Awards.[1] He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. [2]

Personal

McCracken was born on 20 January 1997,[3] and is from Bundaberg.[3][4][5][6][7][8] He attended Avoca State School.[9] He later attended Bundaberg State High School.[3][5][10]

McCracken has cerebral palsy, a condition he was born with.[3][5] He started using a wheelchair in late 2009 because it was less painful.[5]

Athletics

McCracken at the 2012 London Paralympics

McCracken is a wheelchair racer,[3][4] competing in the T34 class.[3] He competes in 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres and 1,500 metres.[4]

He began competing in athletics in 2005,[3] and started wheelchair racing in 2010.[5] He is a member of the Bundaberg Athletic Club.[6]

McCracken at the 2012 London Paralympics

In 2008, at the Queensland 12 years and under Track and Field Championships, McCracken came in first place in the boys 11 years AWD 100m, 200m, long jump, shot put and discus events.[9] In 2008, he participated in the Pan Pacific Games in Canberra. He took home first place in the Athletes With a Disability (AWD) 11 years boys' 100m, long jump, shot put and discus events.[8] In 2009, he participated in the Queensland State Championships in the boys 12 years Athletes With a Disability long jump, 100m, discus and shot put events, winning every one of them.[7]

In 2010, McCracken competed in the Queensland Secondary Schools Championships, where he won the AWD boys 400m event.[10][11] That year, he also competed at the Queensland State Championships and the Australian National Championships.[11]

In 2011, McCracken made his Australian national team debut[3] During 2011, in preparation for the Paralympics, he completed six total training sessions a week.[5] He finished third at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon's wheelchair half-marathon in July 2011.[3][12] In 2011, he competed in Sydney's City2Surf event in the first year the event had an elite wheelchair category.[13] In December, he competed at the 2011 International Wheelchair and Amputee Championships in Dubai, where he won the 100 metre wheelchair racing event with a time of 16.86 seconds.[4][5][6] The time qualified him for the 2012 Paralympics as the qualifying time was 17 seconds.[4][5] Other events he competed in included the 200 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres and 1,500 metres,[4][5] taking silver in the 400 metres, 800 metres and 1,500 metres events.[6] He was half a second slow in the 200 metres event from setting a Paralympic qualifying time.[5] Making his national team debut,[3] he was one of the youngest members of the Australian team at the event.[4][5] In December 2011, he participated in a national athletics team training camp in Canberra.[6]

McCracken receiving the award for 2012 Junior Athlete of the Year at the Australian Paralympian of the Year ceremony

In January 2012, McCracken participated in the Australia Day Series in Canberra,[6][14] where he finished second with a time of 24.38 in the junior race.[14] In January 2012, he trained in Sydney.[6] He later trained with Kurt Fearnley in Newcastle.[6] In January 2012, he finished second the Oz Day 10K men's junior division.[3][15] He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in athletics[3][4][16] in the 100 metre and 200 metre events.[3] He qualified for the Games in December 2011 as a fourteen-year-old.[4]

At the 2012 Summer Paralympics McCracken won a silver in the Men's 100 m T34 and a bronze in the Men's 200 m T34.[17] Competing at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France, he won three silver medals in the Men's 100 m, 200 m T34 and Men's 400 m and a bronze medal in Men's 800 m T34.[1]

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he won the silver medal in the Men's 100 m T34 and a bronze medal in the Men's 800 m T34.[18]

He is coached by Andrew Dawes.[1][19][20]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "IPC13: O'Hanlon wins the Australian Flame their first GOLD". Athletics Australia News. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Australian Paralympic Athletics Team announced". Australian Paralympic Committee News, 2 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Rheed McCracken". Australia Paralympic Committee. 1997-01-20. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hegarty, Laura (2011-12-05). "Teen wheelchair athlete heading to Paralympics". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Vanessa Marsh (2011-12-06). "Bundy boy set for 2012 Paralympics". Bundaberg News Mail. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Vince Habermann (2011-12-09). "Paralympics within reach". Central Queensland News. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  7. 1 2 Habermann, Vince (2009-10-30). "Sporting action for the weekend of October 24 and 25". ABC Wide Bay Qld — Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  8. 1 2 Habermann, Vince (2008-12-18). "Local sporting action for December 13 and 14". ABC Wide Bay Qld — Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  9. 1 2 Habermann, Vince (2008-09-24). "Weekend sporting action for September 20 and 21 -". ABC Wide Bay Qld — Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  10. 1 2 Vince Habermann (2010-10-22). "Gold rush continues for athletes |". Bundaberg News Mail. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  11. 1 2 Vince Habermann (2010-12-31). "PFA award for Mitch". Bundaberg News Mail. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  12. ↑ "Sam's a champion on a roll Gold Coast Events | goldcoast.com.au | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia". goldcoast.com.au. 2011-07-02. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  13. ↑ "Wheelchair racers tackle City2Surf". Western Advocate. 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  14. 1 2 "Kurt's record breaking Australia Day performance". Blayney Chronicle. 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  15. ↑ "Straight eight has Fearnley eyeing Paralympic gold". Blacktown Sun. 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  16. ↑ "Walters sprints for London — Teenager set for Paralympics debut". Canberra Times. Canberra, Australia. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  17. ↑ Results for Rheed McCracken from the International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  18. ↑ "Rheed McCracken". Rio Paralympics Official site. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  19. ↑ "Evan O'Hanlon claims second gold medal at the IPC World Athletics Championships". News Limited Network. 25 July 2013.
  20. ↑ July 2013 "IPC13: Ballard wins third SILVER" Check |url= value (help). Athletics Australia News. 26 July 2013.
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