Paralymmpian #208 Will Stedman has claimed five Paralympic medals across the past three Paralympic Games including an outstanding Men’s 400m T36 silver medal in a national record time at Paris 2024. In the last of our It Takes a Village series, the Christchurch-based sprinter/jumper on his 25th birthday takes time out to thank the people who have helped him on his sporting journey.
A winner of 11 global medals (Paralympic Games and Para Athletics World Championships) over the past eight years few New Zealand Para athletes boast the consistent success of the quietly-assured Cantabrian.
Yet while only one athlete can stand on the podium, as Will readily admits, his success is very much a team effort.
It was while on holiday in London as a 12-year-old boy when his Paralympic dream was born. The trip coincided with the London 2012 Paralympic Games and he was so blown away with the enormity of the event he asked his parents if he could pursue Para sport. Since that moment – dad, Phil, and mum, Cath – have been with him every step of the way.
“My parents have always been totally supportive, even if they didn’t know intitally if my dream was realistic,” explains Will. “But they believed in me, funded me to attend training camps, competitions and helped pay my trip to Australia so I could be internationally classified. They’ve been present at almost every major international competition I’ve competed at and they’ve been incredible with the way they have treated my disability. To them I’ve always just been a normal kid, and I’ve really appreciated their attitude.”
With his parents always in his corner one of the first people to steer him on the right path in disability sport was ParaFed Canterbury Sport Manager Paralympian #130 Hadleigh Pierson. Back then working as Talent Identification Manager at Paralympics New Zealand, it was Hadleigh who first responded to an email sent by Will regarding his initial inquiry to try Para sport.
“Hadleigh was really good at getting me plugged into the right people,” said Will. “He put me in contact with the Athletics NZ Para Lead Raylene Bates and for many years he’s been a great supporter in his work with ParaFed Canterbury. He continues to do some amazing work around disability sport in the Canterbury region.”
Raylene – who served as the NZ Paralympic Team Chef de Mission at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games – is also pinpointed as a hugely significant figure in the athletics journey of Will Stedman.
It was Raylene who first explained to Will the basics of how Para sport worked, the complicated nature of qualification and classification and has been a consistent presence at the vast majority of his key competitions.
“Raylene knows Para athletics very well,” says Will. “On the occasional competition when George Edwards (Will’s coach for a decade) wasn’t present, Raylene would be my coach like at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Her general advice throughout my career has been amazing.”
Since first forming a coach-athlete relationship with George Edwards in 2014 – the pair have forged one of the most enduring coach-athlete relationships up until George’s retirement post the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
“For the last ten years George has been awesome,” says Will. “When I first worked with him he was mainly a jumps coach but he is so open to learning new things and has developed into a great 400m coach. I admire his passion for learning, his style of coaching and we get on so well as people. He has been the master architect of my plans.”
Will also pays tribute to his wider support team at HPSNZ who have provided a holistic and cohesive approach to his training. Since 2015 he has worked with Simeon Joplin as his Strength and Conditioning coach and for the past seven years with Tamsin Chittock as his Physiotherapist. John Quinn (Mental Skills coach), Rebecca Cooke (Nutritionist), Matt Ingram (Performance and Technique Analyst) and his new coach James Sandilands – whom he has worked closely with for the past year – have all played a big role in his success.
“We have team meetings every two months where we have a big discussion about what works and what doesn’t,” explains Will. “The last 18 months is the most cohesive we have been. There is so much knowledge in the room we can bounce ideas off each other. They’ve been awesome and I couldn’t have achieved my success without them.”
The final tribute goes to his wife, Annika, for her unstinting support throughout his career.
“Since we started dating she has been incredible, but even more so since we’ve been married,” he says. “Especially, when I’m overseas training or competing, she has been so supportive.”
