It's athletics week on the AIS Win Well Podcast, with sprinter Chad Perris and middle distance runner Michael Roeger sitting down for a chat just weeks out from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Last month’s dress rehearsal at the World Para Athletics Championships in Japan showed both are on track for Paris, with Roeger claiming bronze in the 1500m T46, while Perris missed out on a fourth consecutive world champs medal by just one hundredth of a second, finishing fourth in the 100m T13 final.
Paris will be the fifth Games for Roeger, while Perris will be competing at his third Paralympics. He told Roeger during the episode that he’s feeling in good shape and enjoying his sport more than ever.
“I’ve got a really good group of athletes that I’m training alongside and I’m just enjoying the training sessions and walking into training looking forward to the training session itself but being with the people that you train with,” he said.
“Leaving the track with a smile on your face as well is something I think is really important. I think if there was any advice that I would give to my younger self it would be to take my results a little bit less seriously. Obviously, it’s still the absolute be all and end all in what you’re doing as an athlete, but it’s important not to take yourself too seriously and let your results define you as a person.”
Both train at the AIS in Canberra, with Roeger telling Perris during their episode of the AIS Win Well Podcast that the setup may see him target the upcoming home Games in Brisbane.
“We're so fortunate, both of us, being in Canberra getting supported by the Australian Institute of Sport, it has probably made my career even longer and has given me the longevity that I need to go to five Paralympic Games, maybe six, seven, who knows,” Roeger said.
“I think, as long as I keep enjoying it, as long as I keep improving, and as long as I'm competitive, I'll keep going.”
Hosted by two-time Olympian Melissa Breen, the AIS Win Well Podcast is a podcast where athletes are in control, with each episode featuring two Olympians and Paralympians in conversation, sharing how they win well both in sport and in life.
Perris and Roeger’s full episode, as well as the rest of the AIS Win Well Podcast series, is available here or on your favourite listening platform.
To learn more about HP 2032+ Strategy and Australian sport’s united vision to ‘win well and inspire Australians’, visit www.winwell2032.au
