Paralympic champion Vanessa Low to return to competition at Adelaide Invitational

Paralympic gold medallist and world record holder Vanessa Low is set to make her return to the runway at the Adelaide Invitational next Saturday night, with the long jumper ready to open her season on the first stop of the country’s premier athletics tour, the Chemist Warehouse Summer Series.

For the first time since achieving an historic three-peat at the Paris Paralympics, Low will step back into competition, looking to use the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet as a stepping stone towards her goal of breaking the elusive six-metre barrier over the next few years.

“We’ve said for the next two years, the six-metre mark is what we want and competing in Adelaide could be a really good stepping stone,” Low said.

“Training has been really going well and I’ve shown some really promising jumps. I’m not sure if I’m getting close to what I did in Paris but I don’t feel like we’re that far off.”

Low entered rarified air in Paris when she collected her third consecutive Paralympic Games gold medal and broke her own world record with a 5.45m leap on her first attempt, but her effort differed from her first two achievements after becoming a mother two and a half years ago.

“I ended up taking three months off training and it was really interesting to take as long off as I did after the Games. You know, when a child goes to daycare, everyone gets a little bit sick, but for us, we basically got the plague – it was horrible.

“I didn’t really get back into training until just before Christmas and I definitely missed it. I usually start my season earlier but Adelaide will be my first competition since Paris, and honestly, that feels like half a life time ago.”

Competing against her in the para field will be fellow Paralympian Sarah Walsh (T44) who will be looking to extend her 5.18m best, while in the able-bodied field, crowds will gear up to see World Under 20 Champion Delta Amidzovski take on Commonwealth Games representative Samantha Dale as the season gets well underway.

Regulars on the Australian athletics scene, World University representatives Elizabeth Hedding and Alyssa Low will complete the field in Adelaide alongside budding heptathlete Emelia Surch and Tomysha Clark, with Japan’s Maya Takeuchi looking to prove herself against an otherwise all-Australian field.

“I haven’t actually competed or run in Adelaide before. My sister in law is there and I’m excited to have a familiar face in the crowd. It should be a really fun meet,” Low said.

The 2025 Adelaide Invitational will be held at SA Athletics Stadium on February 15 from 5.30pm ACDT. Tickets are available HERE, with the meet also streamed live and free on Seven’s digital platform, 7plus.