Jaryd Clifford

• Age: 25
• Degree: Bachelor of Arts alum
• Sport: Para Athletics
• Event/Category: Para-athletics 1500m and 5000m
• Olympic history: Rio 2016; Tokyo 2020 (Silver in Men's 5000m T13 and Men's Marathon T12; Bronze in Men's 1500 m T13); Paris 2024 (4th in Men's 1500m T13; DQ in Men's 5000m T13)

Jaryd has always loved running. But when he was in middle school, he started losing his eyesight due to juvenile macular degeneration. Not one to give up what he loves, he continued with middle-distance running and competed against able-bodied athletes in junior competitions. In fact, he became the first Australian Paralympian to compete at an able-bodied world championship at the Athletics U20 World Championships in 2018.

Jaryd is a World Para Champion, having won gold medals in the Men's 1500m and 5000m T13 events at the 2019 World Para Athletics. He made his Paralympics debut at Rio, and in Tokyo, he was on the podium for all his three events – silver medals in the Men's 5000m T13 and Men's Marathon T12 and bronze in the Men's 1500 m T13.

He had the company of his best friend Tim Logan and Matthew Clarke as his guides at the Paris Olympics. Despite battling injuries in the year leading up to the Games, Jaryd put up a formidable performance at both his events in Paris and was extremely unlucky to miss out on a podium finish.

Jaryd thought he had secured the bronze in the Men's 5000m T13 event. However, he was disqualified as he had dropped the tether linking him to his guide while crossing the finish line. Later, he missed out on a medal in the Men's 1500m T13 by just 0.01 seconds.