A quartet of Para Sport Collective athletes have been given a welcome boost after each received a 2024 Sky Sport Emerging Talent Grant. The four recipients – Para cyclist Thomas Szabo, Para athlete Charli Gardiner-Hall, Para table tennis player Liam Hogan and Para swimmer Rylee Sayer – have each received a grant worth $2500.
Announced by the Halberg Foundation, the grants provide emerging physically and visually impaired rangatahi aged 14-21 with the resources to elevate their skills and help bring their dreams of competing at the highest level to life.
Thomas, 17, started cycling competitively 18 months ago and has already featured as a medallist at the Oceania Championships and Southland Championships. Last year he joined the second intake of the Para Sport Collective and the Cambridge-based student, who has cerebral palsy, was delighted to be one of four grant recipients.
“The grant is gratefully received as it will enable me to travel to the Oceania Championships in Australia next year to compete in my first overseas competition as well as help cover equipment costs, which includes an aero helmet,” said Thomas.
Sixteen-year-old Charli, who attended the first Para Sport Collective intake, has been involved in Para athletics for more than five years and has excelled both domestically and on the international stage. The Waiuku-based student has impressed in the shot, discus and javelin and notably grabbed a silver medal as the youngest athlete in the field in the senior Para discus at the Oceania Championships in Fiji earlier this year.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to Sky Sport and Halberg for awarding me the grant,” says Charli. “The grant will help fund a new leg brace, which will aid my performance and also help cover travel, coaching and strength training costs.”
Auckland-based Liam, 14, has also impressed in both non-disabled and disabled competitions with the Pakuranga College student earning an impressive 92 per cent win record in the Auckland club competition. The rising table tennis talent, who has cerebral palsy, plans to use the grant to help cover the costs of purchasing a table tennis robot to aid his training.
Waikato-based Rylee Sayer, 16, has caught the eye for her achievements in Para swimming breaking multiple national records in the S7 classification. Suffering a right forequarter amputation (of the arm, scapula and clavicle) due to cancer, the teenager hopes to use the grant to cover training and competition costs.
Rylee and Liam are both part of the second intake of the Para Sport Collective – a programme designed to provide pre-high performance athletes and coaches a chance to connect while equipping them with support and a range of learning and development opportunities.
Greg Warnecke, Paralympics New Zealand CEO, said: “We are delighted that four of our Para Sport Collective athletes have received Sky Sport Emerging Talent Grants thanks to Halberg. The talented quartet have an exciting future ahead of them and we are sure the grants will help assist them in pursuit of their sporting ambitions.”
