Dual Paralympic Games gold medallist Vanessa Low has her sights set on Paris 2024 under the guidance of her new coach, fellow Canberra Paralympian and husband Scott Reardon.
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The couple announced Reardon as her new coach in December, as the pair begin work to prepare Low for the world championships in Japan in August.
They have been a powerhouse on the track in the green and gold uniforms ever since Low made the transition from the German team to the Australian team in 2019.
Low, 31, said she was excited for their new chapter as coach and athlete.
"Excited to be walking this next chapter of my sporting journey alongside my amazing husband as my coach," she wrote on Instagram.
"Scott Reardon has been one of my biggest inspirations as an athlete and human being and I know there is so much I will learn from him both on and off the track.
"Let's bring on Paris 2024."
Reardon retired from athletics in October following his third Paralympics in Tokyo, where he finished fifth, to shift his focus to his next chapter in the classroom.
The University of Canberra student is aiming to finish his high school teaching degree in design technology this year, and will juggle his studies alongside his new coaching duties.
The former 100-metre sprinter stepped away from his 13-year career and numerous achievements - including silver in London 2012, gold in Rio 2016 and four consecutive World Para-Athletics Championship titles from 2013 to 2017 - to focus on life off the track.
His new coaching duties, however, ensure he will remain on the track in a new role.
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The 31-year-old will be looking to draw on his experience in his coaching role but he admitted he still had a lot to learn.
"[I'm] super excited to start the next part of my sporting journey as a coach," he wrote on Instagram.
"Vanessa Low and I will be working together at a professional level as we build into [the] Paris Paralympics in 2024.
"A lot to learn but I have good people around to help us along the way."
Low will be chasing her third gold medal in Paris in two years' time, following gold for Germany in Rio 2016 and gold in Tokyo for Australia last year.
Another ambition will likely be to continue to raise the bar higher for herself in the long jump, after she broke her own world record three times in the T63 event to set a new benchmark of 5.28m.
Another area Reardon may look to provide further expertise to help his partner, as a world record and two Paralympic record holder who still holds the World Para-Athletics Championships T42/63 100m record at 12.13 seconds, is in the 100m event.
Alongside her gold medal in Rio, Low also won silver in the 100m T42 event but did not re-contest the event at Tokyo.
Her silver-medal time would have placed her sixth in the final in Tokyo for the T63 event.
The pair are taking a break from the track and from Australia's heat, and are visiting Low's homeland of Germany for Christmas, and to bring in the New Year, before they resume preparations for the 2022 World Para Athletics Championships.
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Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
