Meet A Fair Dinkum Champion

September 13, 2015

The Kingaroy Town Hall Forecourt will come alive on Monday afternoon (September 14) with a special “All Walks And Wheels” event featuring gold-medal winning Paralympian Jodi Elkington-Jones.

Jodi has represented Australia in the Commonwealth Games, the International Paralympic World Championships and the London Paralympics.

Jodi has cerebral palsy but this didn’t stop her passion for sports. Her hard work paid off when she won gold in the Long Jump in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The main purpose of the Kingaroy event is to heighten awareness in the community of the challenges people with disabilities face.

It also aims to break down barriers and support inclusion and integration as part of the annual Disability Action Week celebrations.

To help this, there will be a Celebrity Medley Race starting at 1:00pm with six competitors negotiating various obstacles that can be a daily challenge for people with a disability.

The celebrities will have to open a packet of cereal, pour it in a bowl, add milk and eat a mouthful while their good hand is tied to their waist.

The top four finishers will then take part in a Wheelchair Obstacle Race.

First and second across the line will then have to thread a necklace wearing vision-impaired goggles to determine the final winner.

The masters of ceremonies for the day will be Kingaroy resident Michael Goessing, who was left with a brain injury after a car accident, and local celebrity chef Jason Ford.

The “All Walks and Wheels” event will run from noon to 5:00pm.

There will also be cooking exhibitions and information stalls by local service providers for people with disabilities and carers.

The day has been funded by the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services and auspiced by SBcare.

While she is in Kingaroy, Jodi will also be visiting local schools, including St Mary’s Catholic College and Taabinga State School.