Angie Ballard facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Angie Ballard

2016 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Ballard
Personal information
Nickname(s)	Angie
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1982-06-06) 6 June 1982 (age 43) Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Height	1.71 m
Weight	35–40 kilograms (5 st 7 lb – 6 st 4 lb)
Sport
Sport	Paralympic athletics
College team	The University of Sydney
Club	ACTAS
Medal record Track and field (athletics) Paralympic Games Silver 2008 Beijing 4x100 m T53/54 Silver 2012 London 200 m T53 Silver 2012 London 400 m T53 Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×400 m relay T53/54 Bronze 2004 Athens 100 m T53 Bronze 2012 London 100 m T53 Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m T53 Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro 400 m T53 IPC Athletics World Championships Gold 1998 Birmingham 4x100 m Relay Gold 1998 Birmingham 4x400 m Relay Gold 2002 Lille 100 m Gold 2015 Doha 200 m T53 Gold 2015 Doha 400 m T53 Silver 2013 Lyon 100 m T53 Silver 2013 Lyon 200 m T53 Silver 2013 Lyon 800 m T53 Silver 2017 London 100m T53 Silver 2017 London 200m T53 Bronze 2013 Lyon 400 m T53 Bronze 2015 Doha 800m T53 Commonwealth Games Gold 2014 Glasgow 1500 m T54 Silver 2018 Gold Coast 1500 m T54 Silver 2022 Birmingham 1500 m T53/54

Angela "Angie" Ballard (born 6 June 1982) is an amazing Australian Paralympic athlete. She competes in wheelchair racing sprint events, specifically in the T53 class. When she was seven years old, a car accident caused her to become a paraplegic.

Angie started wheelchair racing in 1994 and first represented Australia in 1998. She has competed in six Paralympic Games from 2000 to 2020, winning four silver and four bronze medals. She has also been coached by famous athletes like Louise Sauvage and trained with Madison de Rozario.

Angie received sports scholarships from the Australian Institute of Sport and The University of Sydney. She also represents the ACT Academy of Sport. She works as an ambassador for sports and disability organizations. She is currently on the board of Wheelchair Sports NSW.

Angie competed in her seventh Paralympic Games at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Angie's Early Life and Journey

Angie Ballard was born on June 6, 1982, in Canberra, Australia. When she was seven, a car accident caused her to become a paraplegic. This meant she lost the use of her legs.

After the accident, Angie spent time in hospitals for rehabilitation. She met Christie Dawes, another wheelchair racer, during her recovery. They later raced together for Australia. Angie's physical education teacher encouraged her to try wheelchair sports. She tried swimming and wheelchair basketball first.

When she first tried racing at age 12, it was tough. She got blisters and a sore neck. But soon, wheelchair athletics became her passion. At 14, she had a surgery for scoliosis and couldn't play sports for a year.

Training and Education

Angie received a scholarship from the ACT Academy of Sport. From 1999 to 2001, she also had an athletics scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. In 2002, she moved to Sydney for university on a sports scholarship. She studied commerce and later Psychology. She graduated in 2014 and received an Alumni Award.

Becoming a Wheelchair Racing Star

Angie Ballard is a wheelchair racing athlete. She mainly competes in the T53 class sprint events. Athletes in the T53 class have less use of their abdominal muscles. This means they cannot lift themselves as much in their wheelchair to get the best speed.

Angie started competitive wheelchair racing in 1994 when she was twelve. Her first racing wheelchair was a used one. By 1997, she was serious about the sport and began setting Australian records. A year later, she was representing Australia internationally. By 2000, she held national records in the T53 100m and 200m events.

From 2002, she had a sports scholarship at the University of Sydney. There, she was coached by Andrew Dawes. She sometimes trained with Louise Sauvage, who later became her coach after the 2004 Games. As of 2021, Fred Periac is her coach.

Paralympic Games Achievements

Angie Ballard at the 2012 London Paralympics

Angie competed in the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. She didn't win medals but placed fourth in the 100m and 200m. She was also a torch bearer and part of the opening ceremony. She circled the track high in the air, suspended by a blimp!

For the 2004 Athens Paralympics, Angie trained six days a week. This intense training caused some injuries, so she changed her schedule for future Games. Before the 2004 Games, she set Australian records in the 100m, 400m, and 800m. At the Athens Games, she won a bronze medal in the T53 100m.

For the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, Angie took a year off her studies to train. She won a silver medal in the T53/54 4x100m relay with her teammates Christie Dawes, Madison de Rozario, and Jemima Moore. This was her best Paralympic result at the time.

Before the 2012 London Paralympics, Angie made big changes to her training and equipment. She was ranked world number one in the T53 100m and 200m. In London, she won two silver medals in the 200m and 400m T53 events. She also won a bronze medal in the 100m T53 event.

Louise Sauvage (left) and Angie Ballard at the 2012 Australian Paralympian of the Year awards ceremony

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Angie won two bronze medals. These were in the women's T53 100m and 400m races.

At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, she reached the finals in the women's T53 100m, 400m, and 800m events. She finished seventh in all three races. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, she finished sixth in both the women's 400m and 800m T53 events.

World Championships Success

Angie Ballard competing at the 2011 World Championships warm-up meet in Sydney, January 2011

In August 1998, Angie competed at the International Paralympic Committee World Championships in Birmingham, England. She was part of the Australian women's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams that won gold medals. Both relay wins set world records that lasted for a long time. In the 2002 World Championships, she won gold in the 100m.

At the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France, she won three silver medals. These were in the Women's 100m, 200m, and 800m T53 events. She also won a bronze medal in the 400m T53.

At the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, Angie won two gold medals. She won the Women's 200m T53 in a championship record time. She also won the Women's 400m T53. After winning the 400m, Angie said it was the one she really wanted. She also won a bronze medal in the Women's 800m T54.

At the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London, England, she won silver medals in the Women's 100m and 200m T53 events. She finished fourth in the 400m T53 and sixth in the 800m T53.

At the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Doha, she finished sixth in the Women's 100m T53 and 400m T53. She placed eighth in the Women's 800m.

At the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, she finished fourth in the Women's 800m T53 and sixth in the Women's 400m T53.

In 2005, Angie placed third in the Women's T53 100m at the first Paralympic World Cup in Manchester.

Commonwealth Games Medals

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Angie finished sixth in the Women's 800m T54. She won a gold medal in the Women's 1500m T54 at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Queensland, she won a silver medal in the Women's 1500m T54. She finished behind Madison de Rozario. She won another silver medal in the Women's 1500m T54 at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, again behind de Rozario.

Australian Titles and Records

Angie has won many Australian titles. She won the 100m women's wheelchair open title multiple times, including in 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2008. She also won gold in the 200m event in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, and 2010. For the 400m, she won gold in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2008, and 2010. In the 800m, she won gold in 1999 and 2001. She won gold in the 1500m in 2005 and 2010.

In 1999, she won five gold medals at Australia's Junior Wheelchair Nationals. She was named the Female Athlete of the Games.

At the 2011 Sydney Track Classic, Angie won a gold and a silver medal. In 2012, she set personal bests and Oceania records. These were for the 100m (17.27 seconds), 200m (30.12 seconds), and 400m (56.89 seconds) events.

Setting World Records

Angie Ballard has set several world records:

• On May 29, 2015, she set a Women's 400m T53 world record with a time of 54.73 seconds in Switzerland.
• On June 4, 2015, she broke her own Women's 400m T53 world record with a time of 54.70 seconds in Switzerland.
• Also on June 4, 2015, she set a Women's 800m T53 world record with a time of 1:47.48.
• On June 5, 2016, she set another Women's 400m T53 world record with a time of 54.69 seconds in the USA.

Angie's Work as an Advocate

Angie Ballard is an ambassador for many organizations. These groups care about people with disabilities, sports, health, and exercise. In 2000, she joined Team MAA to talk about road safety with young people. In 2005, she became an ambassador for Technical Aid to the Disabled. She helped find volunteers and attended fundraisers. She also visited children in the hospital to cheer them up. In 2007, Angie was chosen as an ambassador for Walk to Work Day.

She is also on the board of the Wheelchair Sports Association of New South Wales.

Awards and Recognition

• 1999: ACT Academy of Sport Athlete of the Year in the Disabled Category.
• 2013 and 2014: Athletics Australia Female Para-Athlete of the Year.
• October 2014: Awarded the Nigel C Barker Graduate Medal for Sporting Achievement by the University of Sydney.
• 2024: Co-captain with Curtis McGrath for the Australian Team at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

See also

In Spanish: Angie Ballard para niños