Rae Anderson

My Story

My name is Rae Anderson, I’m an Australian Summer Paralympian in Track and Field and I am aiming to become the 7th Australian dual Summer and Winter Paralympian in Alpine Skiing. I competed at the Rio Paralympics in Discus and Javelin before being given scholarships to transition into Alpine Skiing for the next Winter Paralympics, Beijing 2022.

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I am a Paralympian as I have left sided Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy. My Cerebral Palsy means I have limited use and control of my left arm and leg. I have no depth perception and feeling in my leg from the knee down and have no ankle movement. 

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I love sport and the opportunities it presents, seeing the world, working with and meeting some truly incredible people and pushing myself to be the best athlete I can be, physically, mentally and personally. I have always enjoyed a very active lifestyle and started competing in para sport at age 13 in athletics and was quickly identified as a Paralympic Games potential athlete. In 2014, I was selected to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Long Jump and was the youngest athlete on the Australian Athletics team. In 2015, I competed at the World Para Athletics Championships in Doha, where I threw a Personal Best in my favourite event, Javelin to come 6th shortly after completing my final Higher School Certificate examination at the British Consulate earlier that morning. In 2016, I competed at my first Paralympic Games, a dream come true. I placed 5th in Javelin with another Personal Best and loved every minute of the competition and my time in the athlete village. In 2017, I competed in my second World Para Athletics Championships in London and placed 6th in Discus with another PB. 

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After London, I was approached by the Australian Para Alpine Coach; after he saw me skiing with my family, to join an athlete identification camp, where I was offered a scholarship to train in America. I love athletics but skiing has always been my passion and I have been fortunate to be able to ski every winter with my family and their friends who worked as ski instructors in Australia and overseas. They always pushed me to be the best skier I could be as soon as I was old enough to be clipped into boots and skis. I loved the mountains and skiing, and always dreamed of ski racing as a ‘Milo kid’ watching the Race Club kids training in gates while I giggled my way through traffic cones. This was just my dream as the financial requirements and logistics of where I live were always proving difficult, however I have been blessed to be given the support to be able to pursue my passion in recent years.  

My personal goal has and always will be to become the best person I can be regardless of my abilities and disabilities. Sport has given me so much, and my goal is to give back to the developing Paralympic movement, through my story and my experiences to support my community and nurture the young athletes who will become the next Olympians, Paralympians, medallists and dreamers.

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In 2018, I had a year off elite sport to focus on my studies. I lived and studied in Indonesia for 6 months at the Universitas Gadjah Mada. My goal since Year 7 was to study Indonesian Studies at the University of Sydney and Universitas Gadjah Mada. I study a Double Major Bachelor of Arts, Indonesian Stuides and Asian Studies at the University of Sydney. Academically, my goals are to maintain my Distinction/High Distinction average. Competition and elite sports are important to me, and I've always dreamed of having a sporting career. Although, there is life after sport and we have to make it what we want it to be. Studying in Indonesia taught me that there is more to life than elite sport, I'm grateful that I had this epiphany so early on in my life and sporting career. It has taught me to enjoy elite sports and the opportunties it provides and to push myself to be the best athlete, physically, mentally and personally that I can be. It has allowed me this sense of gratitude and connection with my sporting career and life beyond sport. I love competing for Australia and I now know that life after sport is going to be pretty awesome too.