12°57′ N 77°37′ E is tattooed on the left arm of multiple Paralympic medalist Vanessa Low of Australia.
The co-ordinates are of Bengaluru. Her first-ever visit to India in 2009 was to the Garden City. She was 19 then and it was her first international classification event. She has three more coordinates of Christchurch, Lyon and Doha, host cities of the World Para Athletics Championships.
Over a decade and a half since her visit to Bengaluru, the 34-year-old is back in the country as three-time Paralympic gold medalist and three-time World Champion in the T63 Long Jump. She’s in the capital to take part in the first-ever World Para Athletics Grand Prix happening in the national capital.
“2009 was my first trip. It was very chaotic. Transport didn’t work well and there were struggles but I loved every minute of it. The reason we are here is the sport and I am so excited to be back,” Vanessa told The Indian Express.
When asked what has changed from the last time, Vanessa said, “A lot has changed from the last time. This time the organization is very smooth and I am happy to see the facilities. Over the years, the sport has become more professional and it is visible in how the tournament is being organized.”
Tattoos of the coordinates of cities on Vanessa Low’s hand. (Express Photo by Pritish Raj)
A trailblazer
Currently, representing Australia, Vanessa represented her birth country Germany from 2009 to 2017. Since getting married to Paralympic champion sprinter Scott Readron, she had settled down in Australia.
“It feels like I have lived two different lives. But the good thing is that I have been embraced by both countries. When I won in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, the German team celebrated alongside me,” said Vanessa
Born in Schwerin, Germany, Vanessa was into handball, snowboarding and long distance running. However, at the age of 15 she was struck by a train after she lost balance when standing on the platform. Her left leg got severed in the accident and doctors had to amputate her right leg during a life-saving surgery. She was in a coma for two weeks.
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It took Vanessa two years to start walking using the prosthetics. “I woke up from the coma and slowly realized things have changed for me. I just wanted to run,” Vanessa said.
She turned to para athletics in 2009 and for the longest time Vanessa was the only active female track athlete with two above-knee amputations (running).
Despite competing against athletes with one functional leg, gradually Vanessa started dominating at the international level.
When asked if she ever felt any disadvantage, Vanessa said,” No, I don’t think I had any disadvantages. I focused on my own training and played on my own strengths. It is difficult in para athletics sometimes as the disabilities of the athletes are different. But I believe hard work can outweigh talent.I took 7 years to win my first medal. It took me some time to run on prosthetics but I found a way to make it work,” she added further.
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Vanessa has won eight medals at the World Championshipsand four Paralympic medals across two events (T63 Long Jump and T42 100m).
Motherhood and sport
Apart from being a multiple-time Paralympic gold medalist, Vanessa is also a mother of a two-year-old son.
“My day starts when my kid wakes me up. I usually do four training sessions and six jump sessions after dropping off my little one to the daycare,” Vanessa said.
When asked how tough it is to pursue a full-time sports career with a kid, Vanessa said, “The fact that I have to balance my family and work means I have developed the habits that make me a better athlete. He understands things now and is the odd one out in the family with me and Scott having amputations,” she said. “His friends ask him about us and he feels very proud of us. He feels that we have computerised legs but I can see that he adores both of us.”
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Despite winning a bagful of medals, Vanessa is still motivated to strive to remain on the podium at major events.
“I thought I would be done after Paris and would be able to let the sport go, but it didn’t happen. I guess I just love the training. I am aware of my age but I feel there is a lot more I can achieve. I would love to touch the 6-metre mark. It seems really far because when I started out the world record was 3.79m. Having ticked off a lot of milestones, I think 6m is in reach. I think I can jump 6 metres. The closest I got was 5.92 in practice before the 2024 Olympics. I was ready to jump 5.80 on the day (Paris) but I didn’t get the board. It’s not far,” she added.
Vanessa’s love for the sport, she feels, is the reason she keeps at it.
“People recognise me due to this sport and I have gone to great lengths to train and become what I am today. I guess all those years, when I put in hard yards without thinking of the results, they kept me going,” she said.
