Going for gold

By Casey Neill
MADELEINE Hogan has her eyes on paralympics glory in London.
The Ferntree Gully athlete took home the F46 javelin gold medal at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships earlier this year.
Her 37.79 metre throw – more than four metres clear of her nearest rival – was the perfect start to the 22-year-old’s preparation for the 2012 games. “It was wonderful,” Hogan said. “It certainly relieved a lot of pressure.”
She went into the competition in Christchurch in January expecting to win a medal. “The pressure comes from myself,” she said.
Hogan was born without a left hand and competes in the F46 paralympic category.
This refers to athletes with a single above or below elbow amputation or with normal leg function but impairment in the arms or trunk.
She has a background in cricket, playing for the Victorian able-bodied squad in her teens.
Her coach John Eden spotted her competing at a school athletics day and set about convincing her to take up the challenge. She was reluctant at first.
“Because I was so into cricket, and the training was pretty full on,” she said. “But I realised I wanted to represent Australia, to go higher. The paralympics was a great opportunity to do that.”
Hogan credits Eden with where she is today. She won a bronze medal in her first paralympics in Beijing and hopes to improve on the result in London.
She likes big meets.
“I enjoy the pressure and I enjoy being nervous,” she said.
“One of the things about competing is you have to bluff them. “Make them think you know what you’re doing.”
Hogan had surgery on her elbow this month to repair a torn ligament, so rehabilitation will be her focus for the next five months. “We’ve given ourselves enough time to be throwing 100 per cent,” she said.
She’ll work her way up to 11 or 12 training sessions a week, including technique and gym work, before going for gold in 2012.