Rheed McCracken

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 where he repeated his medal success at the London Paralympics.[2]

Rheed McCracken
2016 Australian Paralympic Team Portrait
Personal information
NationalityAustralian
Born (1997-01-20) 20 January 1997
Bundaberg, Queensland
Sport
Country Australia
SportAthletics
Disabilitycerebral palsy
Event(s)T34 - 100 metres
T34 - 200 metres
T34 - 400 metres
T34 - 800 metres
ClubBundaberg 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
2017 LondonMen's 100 m T34
2019 DubaiMen's 100 m T34
2013 Lyon Men's 800 m T34
2017 LondonMen's 200 m T34

Personal

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

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]

At the Swiss National Championships in Arbon on 28 May 2017, McCracken set a new world record in the Men's 100m T34 with a time of 14.92.[19]

At the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London, England, McCracken won the silver medal in the Men's 100m T34 (15.40 (+0.3)) and a bronze medal in the Men's 200m T34 (27.81 (-1.5)).[20][21]

At the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, he won his third world championship silver medal in the Men's 100 m T34.[22]

He is coached by Andrew Dawes.[1][23][24]

World records
Distance Time Location Date
Men's 100m T3414.92 (+1.0)Arbon, Switzerland27 May 2017
Men's 100m T3414.80Nottwil, Switzerland26 May 2018 [25]

Recognition

Notes
  1. "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. "Rheed McCracken". Australia Paralympic Committee. 20 January 1997. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  4. Hegarty, Laura (5 December 2011). "Teen wheelchair athlete heading to Paralympics". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  5. Vanessa Marsh (6 December 2011). "Bundy boy set for 2012 Paralympics". Bundaberg News Mail. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  6. Vince Habermann (9 December 2011). "Paralympics within reach". Central Queensland News. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  7. Habermann, Vince (30 October 2009). "Sporting action for the weekend of October 24 and 25". ABC Wide Bay Qld — Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  8. Habermann, Vince (18 December 2008). "Local sporting action for December 13 and 14". ABC Wide Bay Qld — Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  9. Habermann, Vince (24 September 2008). "Weekend sporting action for September 20 and 21 -". ABC Wide Bay Qld — Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  10. Vince Habermann (22 October 2010). "Gold rush continues for athletes |". Bundaberg News Mail. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  11. Vince Habermann (31 December 2010). "PFA award for Mitch". Bundaberg News Mail. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  12. "Sam's a champion on a roll Gold Coast Events | goldcoast.com.au | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia". goldcoast.com.au. 2 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  13. "Wheelchair racers tackle City2Surf". Western Advocate. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  14. "Kurt's record breaking Australia Day performance". Blayney Chronicle. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  15. "Straight eight has Fearnley eyeing Paralympic gold". Blacktown Sun. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  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 (archived). Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  18. "Rheed McCracken". Rio Paralympics Official site. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  19. "Lakatos, Cockroft and Ktila all smash world records". International Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  20. "Wrap: Aussies in medals at Para World Champs". Athletics Australia News, 19 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  21. Ryner, Sascha. "Photo decider sees O'Hanlon reclaim glory". Athletics Australia News. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  22. "World Para Athletics Championships Dubai - Day 4 Recap". Athletics Australia. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  23. "Evan O'Hanlon claims second gold medal at the IPC World Athletics Championships". News Limited Network. 25 July 2013.
  24. July 2013 "IPC13: Ballard wins third SILVER" Check |url= value (help). Athletics Australia News. 26 July 2013.
  25. [Record-breaking day at Nottwil Grand Prix "Record-breaking day at Nottwil Grand Prix"] Check |url= value (help). International Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  26. "2016 Annual Awards winners". Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association website. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
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