Fresh from setting a new world record in women’s 400m wheelchair T53 event at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Nottwil, Switzerland 10 days ago, Sydney University wheelchair track racer Angela Ballard lowered the mark again on Sunday.
Competing at the Daniela Jutzeler Memorial in Arbon, Switzerland, on Sunday, Ballard won the T53 400m in 54.70sec, lowering her previous best time by 0.03sec. The Commonwealth champion and former Sydney University Sport Scholarship holder bettered the mark of American Jessica Galli, who had set the standard at 54.88sec when she won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.
Ballard backed that up by setting a new world record in the T53 800m, completing two circuits of the track in 1:47.48, which bettered the eight-year-old mark of 1:49.82 which was also set by Galli.
The Daniela Jutzeler Memorial carnival was followed by the Swiss Open Nationals, where Ballard was once again in the medals, claiming gold in the women’s T53-54 200m and 400m, and silver in the T53-54 100m.
Ballard, 32, is now primed for the IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha later this year. She is a seven-time medallist at the event, including four (three silver, one bronze) at the Lyon 2013 instalment. She was later named the 2013 Para-Athlete of the Year by Athletics Australia.
In an illustrious career, Ballard has won five medals from the Paralympic Games, including silver in the 400m at London 2012. She also won the women’s T54 wheelchair 1500m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last year.
