de ROZARIO Madison

Classification
T53 (IPC, 17 Feb 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (news.com.au, 04 Sep 2012)

Impairment Details
She contracted transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder which causes inflammation of the spinal cord, at age four. She first experienced paralysis in her feet and by the time she had reached the hospital, she had lost the ability to move her arms. Doctors reversed the effects from her waist up but she has had paraplegia ever since. (news.com.au, 04 Sep 2012)

General
BARBIE DOLL
In 2020 she was among several female athletes to be part of toy doll Barbie's 'Shero' series. She had a personalised doll designed in her honour, which was revealed on International Women's Day. "It was a lot of communication at first, just trying to like get the doll perfect. You know, with the race chair and all the measurements, and then the actual doll and all the features. I think younger me would have never believed it. That I, personally, would be a doll. But that someone that looks like me, would be so visible. So, honestly, it really is an amazing, amazing experience. The whole thing." (paralympic.org, 06 Mar 2020)

RIO RELAY
She was part of the Australian women's T53/54 4x400m relay team that initially finished third at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, behind teams from the Peoples' Republic of China and the United States of America. The Australians were disqualified after the race due to one of their racers straying out of their lane. The Australian team lodged an official protest that was upheld by the International Paralympic Committee [IPC], who disqualified the US team for interference and promoted the reinstated Australians to silver. (IPC Results Database, 2017; geelongadvertiser.com.au, 16 Sep 2016; paralympic.org.au, 16 Sep 2016)

BEIJING EXPERIENCE
Two years after taking up wheelchair racing, she debuted at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. "I actually wasn't supposed to be at Beijing. One of the girls fell pregnant so she dropped out and I was the fill in. In hindsight, I think the fact I was the sub made me race better because there weren't any expectations. Without the pressure, I was mostly competitive with myself." (elle.com.au, 10 Apr 2018)

EDUCATION
In 2018 she started a bachelor's degree in business at Griffith University in Australia. (thegriffithcollective.com, 04 May 2020; elle.com.au, 10 Apr 2018)

At age 14 she was the youngest Australian athlete to compete at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. (au.news.yahoo.com, 26 Mar 2015; SportsDeskOnline, 04 Oct 2019)