Sam Rizzo

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Samuel Rizzo
Personal information
NationalityAustralian
Born (2000-08-23) August 23, 2000 (age 23)
Sport
Country Australia
SportAthletics

Samuel "Sam" Rizzo (born 3 August 2000) is an Australian Paralympic athletics competitor. He has been selected to compete at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.[1]

Personal

Rizzo was born 3 August 2000 with spina bifa. In 2024, he works as a fabricator and lives in Buninyong, Victoria.[2]

Athletics

He is classified as a T54 wheelchair racer. After meeting Australian Paralympic gold medallist Richard Colman at the age of eight and watching him win gold at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, the idea of competing at the Paralympics became a dream. He started wheelchair at the age of twelve in 2012[3].

At his first international competition - the 2017 World Para Junior Championships in Switzerland, he won three bronze medals - 100 m, 800 m and 1500 m T54 events. Rizzo finished sixth in Men's 1500 m T54 at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast.[4] Rizzo competed in three events at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships, Paris - he made two finals, finishing ninth in the Men's 1500 m T54 and tenth in the Men's 5000 m T54.[5] In March 2024, at the Dubai 2024 World Para Athletics Grand Prix, he recorded a Paralympics Games A qualifier. He broke Kurt Fearnley's 1500 m T54 Australian record by four seconds set in 2012, with the time 2:50.84. [1] [6]

After breaking Furnley's record, Rizzo stated " “I want to help the next group of kids coming through in the same way that Richard Colman and Kurt Fearnley helped me, because if I wasn’t doing this sport, I’m sure my life would look completely different. f I could have half the name of Kurt Fearnley or Richard Colman, and their legacies – I would be a pretty happy man! One step at a time though.”[6] In the lead up to the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Rizzo competed in three events - 800 m, 1500 m and 5000 m T54 at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships, Kobe, Japan.[7]

He is coached by Richard Colman. In 2024, he is a Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship athlete.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Fearnley Protégé Among Newest Members Of Australian Paralympic Team | Paralympics Australia". www.paralympic.org.au. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Sam Rizzo". Victorian Institute of Sport. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  3. ^ Australia, Athletics. "Samuel Rizzo". www.athletics.com.au. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Sam Rizzo Results | Commonwealth Games Australia". commonwealthgames.com.au. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Australian Athletics Results". athletics.possumbility.com. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b Australia, Athletics. "Rizzo Rolls past Royalty | Samuel Rizzo Shatters Kurt Fearnley's Record". www.athletics.com.au. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Para-Athletics stars shine bright at World Championships". Victorian Institute of Sport. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
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