Sport
22 July, 2024
Former local Diane Jackson enjoys gold medal success in Warrior Games
Former Maryborough local Diane Jackson had a terrific outing at the recent Warrior Games in Orlando, Florida, securing two gold medals, two bronze medals, and the Games Champion award for Team Australia. The 58-year-old’s success saw her compete...
Former Maryborough local Diane Jackson had a terrific outing at the recent Warrior Games in Orlando, Florida, securing two gold medals, two bronze medals, and the Games Champion award for Team Australia.
The 58-year-old’s success saw her compete in four different sports — an incredible show of her ability to take up different sports and succeed, which has been a staple of her life.
The Warrior Games is set up by the United States’ Department of Defense for active or retired military members who are injured, ill, or disabled, to compete in different sports, similar to the Olympic Games.
This year was the 14th edition of the games, held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World, with 11 adaptive sports over 10 days from June 21 to 30.
Jackson was eligible to compete in the Games after joining the Royal Australian Air Force in 1990, having worked in Darwin as a supply clerk, before she was posted to Amberley in Queensland.
She returned to Darwin from 2001 to 2008 to work as a logistics officer, before moving to the nation’s capital in Canberra, working in health and safety with her position of Hazardous Chemicals Project Manager within the Australian Defence Force right up until her retirement in 2017.
Jackson was medically discharged following the diagnosis of an illness called Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, a rare disease which gradually stops lower limb movement, and also produces symptoms such as knee hyperextension, stumbling, falling, neurogenic pain and foot drop.
The illness is currently incurable, although muscle relaxers can help ease some pain, and people with the illness are urged to continue regular physical therapy.
For Jackson, sport is that relief which allows her to continue that constant movement she requires.
After participating in hockey, playing several years with the Australian Defence Force, Jackson took up lawn bowls, playing in a wheelchair in Queensland, where she currently lives, and has been able to participate in the Queensland State Multi Disability Bowls Championships regularly.
Jackson has also taken up powerlifting, and is constantly improving in competition, achieving personal bests.
Her versatility as an athlete was telling throughout the Games, putting in strong performances across discus, shotput, handcycling, powerlifting and indoor rowing.
Jackson’s pet event during the Games emerged as the indoor rowing, taking two golds — winning the four-minute race in the 2.0 classification, and also taking gold in the one-minute race for the 2.0 classification.
Jackson also performed well in the field athletics, scoring a bronze medal in the women’s seated discus SE4.0 division, and another bronze in the seated shot put SE4.0.
Jackson’s results allowed her to claim the Team Australia Games Champion Award — which was a terrific result, considering over 30 athletes made the trip to Orlando to compete as they took on the best of what America’s veterans had to offer.
Jackson had a strong contingent, with local supporters including her mother, Joan, making the trip, alongside husband Russ, who is Diane’s carer and biggest supporter.
For Jackson, adapting to new sports has been a challenge, but it has also allowed her to achieve things she never thought were possible.
“It is quite difficult cycling with your arms, but you can do it,” she says of her achievements in handcycling.
“With shotput and discus, they actually strap you onto a chair, so you can’t move your legs at all, and you just throw your shotput and discus in the chair.
“With the rowing, as my legs don’t function that well, I’m also strapped down, so I’m rowing with my arms only.
“They are things you think you would never be able to do until there’s a program operating that can make you achieve those things.”
Like many who live with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, Jackson is determined to delay the progression of the disease as much as possible by constantly moving and participating in events such as the Warrior Games, on top of her lawn bowls commitments, where she is still ladies’ secretary of her local bowls club in Airlie Beach.
“My idea is to try and delay progression as much as possible, working on my physical abilities. It will help a little bit, that’s the main thing,” she said.
Jackson says she is never alone in her support, and credits her rock, Russ, in helping her achieve strong results.
“You never do these things on your own, there’s always people with you. My family, led by my husband, set up a training field for me for shotput and discus and allowed me to train beforehand,” she said.