Diamond Valley Athletics Club is the proud home of Jaryd Clifford and Elyssia Kenshole.

Elyssia Kenshole (Bill Georgantis)

Selected for Australian U20 squad 2021.

  The future of Australian pole vault is bright, with Elyssia Kenshole (VIC) jumping for the second time at the 2021 Championships after placing fourth in the Open event with a vault of 4.10m. While she couldn’t quite replicate the result two days later, her jump of 4.07m awarded her gold U20 and added another qualifying standard to her list of achievements over the season.

  World Athletics Profile 

  Interview

Jaryd Clifford (Philo Saunders)

ParaOlympics Tokyo 2021: Silver 5000m T12/13, Bronze 1500m T12/13

World Championships 2020: Gold 5000m T12/3, Gold 1500m T12/13

World Record holder: 1500m T12/13

When Jaryd Clifford made his Paralympic debut as a fresh-faced 17-year-old at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, no one could have predicted that three years later, he would be the man to beat at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

There is no denying that Jaryd raced well in Rio – he placed seventh in the men’s 1500m T13 and men’s 5000m T13, with one of his races attracting worldwide attention for being faster than its Olympic equivalent – but his improvement since then has been astronomical.

Jaryd won a bronze medal in the men’s 1500m T13 at the 2017 World Para-athletics Championships, became the first Paralympian to compete at the able-bodied U20 World Championships in 2018, and was crowned a dual world champion and world record holder in the men’s 1500m T13 at the 2019 World Para-athletics Championships last November. So, what changed?

One month prior to the 2017 World Championships, Jaryd began working with esteemed coach Philo Saunders, and for the first time in his life, Jaryd felt like an elite athlete. He was running every day, 100km every week.

But running with a vision impairment has its challenges, and as Jaryd’s sight deteriorates, he must continue to adapt. He is now running with a guide, best mate and long-time training partner Tim Logan, and because they have run together for years, they already naturally take the same strides. If ever there was a dynamic duo, these two are it, and it is a partnership which is sure to serve Jaryd well in the lead-up to Tokyo.

https://www.paralympic.org.au/athlete/jaryd-clifford/