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“There are a lot of barriers that you might say increase the need to be recognized in the way that Olympic athletes are recognized from a medal incentive perspective.”
McLaughlin says many Paralympic athletes are struggling financially due to the high cost of living, forcing many to work extra hours despite their intensive training programmes.
Australian Paralympic flag bearers Brendan Hall and Madison De Rosario.credit: Louis Duvey
“They are elite athletes and so they can’t necessarily work full-time, yet a lot of them do – they have to juggle work and personal life because they have no other option,” McLaughlin said.
“They pay more money for rent because they have to find a place that is more accessible, which often costs them a lot, or because they can’t share with someone else. There are all these factors that able-bodied athletes don’t have to deal with or even think about.”
Three-time Paralympic gold medallist Curtis McGrath, who became a sailboat racer after losing his legs while serving as a combat engineer in Afghanistan, said he was lucky to have a military pension and sponsors, but many of his Australian teammates were not.
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“These athletes who represent Australia at the Games, they're not getting millions or hundreds of thousands of dollars, they're getting tens of hundreds of dollars, and that's really hard to come by,” he said.
“We don’t have those reserves and funds, so we have to raise money for our team to get to the games. That’s something we’re really trying to fix. The reward of representing your country is something we feel very honoured to do, but the financial opportunities aren’t there.
“We hope that more commercial partners will join these efforts and contribute to increasing the capacity and value of athletes across our country.”
“When it was first announced in Tokyo, it was so exciting, and to know it’s happening again is so satisfying,” said De Rosario, who will be one of Australia’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony on Wednesday. “Paralympians are not here in Paris for the money – we are here in green and gold because of what it means to us to compete for our country. That support tells us as Paralympians that we are valued. It also tells the public that athletes with a disability are equal to athletes without a disability.”
Australia has a team of 160 athletes in Paris, competing in 17 of the 22 sports at the Paralympic Games.
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