Having professional coaches was a big advantage for Australia

Australian athletics coaches Brett Jones (left) and Chris Nunn congratulate athletes Lisa Llorens (left, bronze medallist) and Sharon Rackham (gold medallist) after the T20 200m at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics. The open inclusion of highly qualified coaches in the Australian team, as had long been the case in able bodied sport, was a significant innovation by the Australian Paralympic Federation and paid massive dividends in terms of team performance. Even in 1992, coaches on the team had been appointed as ‘escorts’.