Deon Kenzie

Deon Kenzie (born 11 March 1996) is an Australian Para athlete who competes in the T38 (classification) prominently in the 1500m. He has won medals at the 2013, 2015 and 2017 World Para Athletics Championships including gold in the Men's 1500 m T38 in 2017. He won a silver medal in the Men's 1500 m T38 at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.[2][3]

Deon Kenzie
2016 Australian Paralympic Team Portrait
Personal information
NationalityAustralian [1]
Born (1996-03-11) 11 March 1996 [1]
Devonport, Tasmania [1]
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportParalympic athletics
Event(s)1500m
ClubNorth West Athletic Club (TAS)
Coached byMike Gunson [1]
Medal record
Men's paralympic athletics
Representing  Australia
Paralympic Games
2016 Rio 1500 m T38
IPC World Championships
2013 Lyon 1500 m T38
2015 Doha 1500 m T38
2017 London 1500 m T38
2017 London 800 m T38
2019 Dubai 1500 m T38

Personal

Kenzie was born in Devonport, Tasmania.[1] He has cerebral palsy, which impacts the right side of his body.[4] He has attended Forth Primary, Devonport High School and The Don College.[5] He lives in Forth, Tasmania.

Athletics

In 2013, Kenzie made his international debut at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France. Competing in the T38 1500m against the likes of Michael McKillop and Abbes Saidi, Kenzie led the first lap before eventually hanging on in the later stages for the bronze medal.

On 13 December 2014, he broke the Men's 1500m T38 world record at an athletics meeting in the Domain Athletic Centre in Hobart.[6] His time of 4.08.51 beat Abbes Saidi of Tunisia world record of 4:09.50 that was set in July 2005.[6] Kenzie is coached by Mike Gunson.[6]

At the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, he won the bronze medal in the Men's 1500m T38 in a time of 4:11.60.[7] In the Men's 800m T38, whilst sitting in the bronze medal position coming into the home straight, he fell and eventually finished in seventh place in 2:11.58.[8] After winning the bronze medal in the Men's 1500m, he said: "It's a great reward for all the hard work that I’ve put in this year and I can’t wait to get home to start working with Gunner (coach, Mike Gunson) and Philo (Saunders) on a program that will have me in the best possible shape when it counts even more in 2016."[7]

Kenzie won a silver medal at the Men's 1500m T38 at the 2016 Rio Paralympics with a time of 4:14.95[3] .

on 31 March 2017 in Sydney, he set a world record in the Men's 1500m T38 with a time of 4:05.11.[9]

At the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London, England, he won the gold medal in the Men's 1500 m T38 ((4:06.68)) and silver medal in the Men's 800 m T38 (2:02.15 Australian record).[10][11]

In his only event at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, Kenzie won the bronze medal in the Men's 1500 m T38.[12]

He is a Tasmanian Institute of Sport athletics scholarship holder.[13]

Recognition
  • 2013 – The Advocate-IGA Junior Sports Awards.[14]
  • 2014 – Athletics Tasmania U18 Athlete of the Year
  • 2014 – Finalist for the Athletics Australia Para Athlete of the Year award.

References
  1. "Deon Kenzie – Athlete Profile". International Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  2. "Australian Paralympic Athletics Team announced". Australian Paralympic Committee News, 2 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  3. "Men's 1500 m T38 results". Rio Paralympics Official site. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  4. Shaw, Rob (18 June 2013). "Devonport teen for paralympic world titles". The Examiner.
  5. Edmunds, Luke (25 July 2013). "Deon claims bronze medal". The Advocate. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  6. "Record run for Kenzie". Athletics Australia News, 13 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  7. "Doha 2015". Athletics Australia website. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  8. "Doha 2015". Athletics Australia website. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  9. "London 2017 World Para Athletics Championships". International Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  10. Ryner, Sascha. "Holt surges to gold once again". Athletics Australia News, 17 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  11. Ryner, Sascha. "A trio of gold medals bolsters Australia's medal tally". Athletics Australia News, 23 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  12. "World Para Athletics Championships Dubai - Day 9 Recap". Athletics Australia. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  13. "NTC Track and Field Athletes". Tasmanian Institute of Sport website. Archived from the original on 3 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  14. Whiteley, Cameron (14 December 2014). "Deon Kenzie targets Rio Paralympics". The Advocate. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
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