A second chance: para-athletes aim to qualify for World Athletics Championship

After an unsuccessful first attempt, para-athlete Amy Ellis and her team are hopeful to qualify for the 2027 World Athletics Championships relay in their upcoming second trial.

The first trial opportunity was at the 2026 New Zealand Track and Field Championships, but an error on the officials’ part resulted in everyone getting disqualified for stepping out of their lanes.

“We actually never practice together because we were all spread around New Zealand...that was something we did lack,” said Ellis.

The specific nature of para-relays requires a team of two men and two women.

Teams must consist of a visually impaired runner, an amputee, a cerebral palsy athlete, and someone in a wheelchair.

Ellis was born with three eye conditions resulting in a visual “acuity” known as 6/60.

"You can stand 60m away from an object where I have to stand 6m away to be able to know what I’m looking at, but it still won’t be completely clear.”

Ellis has been training and competing in track events since 2023, finishing first in the world for Under 20 T13 women's 200m last season.

Currently coached by Paralympian and two-time bronze medalist Mitch Joynt, Ellis is training for the 2026 Oceania Athletics Championship.

Joynt said “I’ve never trained someone who’s VI [visually impaired] before. So, it’s quite cool for me, as a coach, to learn what she needs and doesn’t need”.

Athletics New Zealand is sending 157 athletes to Darwin for the Oceania event in May, and of those athletes, 22 are competing in para-events.

A second relay trial is being arranged at the Oceania Championships in hopes of redemption after the first failed attempt.

The aim is to qualify a New Zealand para-relay team for the 2027 World Athletics Championships, and it will be the final opportunity for qualification, with the New Zealand athletics season coming to an end.

“Oceania's is it,” said Ellis.

Joynt will also be competing in the relay trial and is hopeful that NZ will be able to send a team to the 2027 world championships.

“Just getting to the start line would be pretty cool.”

Ellis trains on the track four times a week and does sessions in the gym twice a week to get her body and race times ready for competition.

She said she does not let her visual impairment become a barrier to reaching her goals and aspires to compete in the Paralympics in 2028.

“It’s about adapting my training sessions to my needs.”

The Oceania Athletics Championships 2026 will be held from 18^th to the 23^rd of May.