Telaya Blacksmith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Australia| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | 3 December 2007 (age 18) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Australia |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Disability | T20 |
Telaya Blacksmith (born 3 December 2007)[1] is a Warlpiri Australian Paralympic athletics competitor with a Neurological Disorder. She competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics and became Australia's 16th Indigenous Australian Paralympian.[2]
Blacksmith was born in Perth and raised in the Aboriginal community of Lajamanu in the Northern Territory and she is the first Warlpiri athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games.[3][1] She attended Warilla High School and in 2024 attends Endeavour Sports High School in Sydney.[4][5]
Athletics
She is classified as a T20 athlete. Cathy Freeman was her idol growing up.[4] At 14, she represented Australia at the 2022 Virtus Oceania Asia Games in Brisbane and then the 2023 Virtus Global Games in Vichy, France.[4] In 2024, Blacksmith holds the Australian under 15, under 17 and under 20 T20 records in the 100 m, 200 m and long jump. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, she competed in the 400m T20 where she holds the Australian under 17, under 20 and open T20 records, breaking the Oceanic record on her way to finishing 8th in the final.[4][6][7] In the Women's Long Jump T20, she finished ninth.[8] At the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, she finished eighth in the Women's 400 T20 and tenth in Women's Long Jump T20.[9]
She is coached by Jacinta Doyle in the Sutherland Shire, Sydney Australia[4]
Australian football
In 2024, Blacksmith plays Australian football with Miranda Bombers and is in the Sydney Swans AFL academy.