Ipswich Paralympians do us proud in Tokyo
08 September 2021
Ipswich is celebrating local athletes Susan Seipel and Taymon Kenton-Smith after a sterling effort at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Ipswich’s dual Paralympian Susan Seipel secured a silver medal in the new Va’a discipline in Para-Canoe, and Para-Archer Taymon Kenton-Smith was narrowly defeated in the 1/16 Elimination Round of the Open Men’s Individual Recurve on his Games debut.
Adding to her Rio bronze medal in the KL2, Ms Seipel was thrilled to be part of history and finish on the podium as the Va’a made its Paralympic debut.
“It is awesome, I am so happy. It’s been a crazy lead up, a bit of a rollercoaster to get here, so this is the icing on the cake,” Ms Seipel said.
“This has been a rough time for everyone with the coronavirus… just so happy to get it done and relieved.”
Mr Kenton-Smith’s Elimination Round was the highest-scoring match of the day, and he also competed in the 1/8 Open Mixed Team Recurve.
“I fought my guts out, I have had good support behind me,” Mr Kenton-Smith said.
“I want to say an absolute thank you to all the people at home, I have got like 60 messages already telling me how proud they are of me.”
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said it is fantastic to see local sportspeople succeeding.
“Congratulations to our Paralympians Susan and Taymon, who trained through challenging circumstances for a successful 2020 Paralympic Games,” Mayor Harding said.
“Watching the resilience and determination of our athletes performing on the world stage reminded me of the power of sport for inclusion.
“Well done, you have not only flown the flag for Ipswich and Australia, but for people with disabilities across the world.”
Community, Culture, Arts and Sport Committee Chair Councillor Andrew Fechner congratulated Ipswich’s Paralympians on their performances.
“Ipswich Paralympians have inspired us not only with their performances at the Games but with their extraordinary effort and commitment to represent Australia,” Cr Fechner said.
“Paralympians set a wonderful example to everyone in the community of what can be achieved in the face of significant challenges.”
Australian competed in 18 of the 22 sports on the Tokyo 2020 program.
Australia’s elite Para-athletes won 80 medals to finish sixth on the overall medal tally and 21 gold to come eighth on the gold medal count.