LOCAL LEGEND LAKEISHA "LUCKY" PATTERSON
Lakiesha Patterson, otherwise known as ‘Lucky’, has been a dominant prescence in Paralympic swimming since her success in 2016 at the Rio Paralympics. Born with cerebral palsy and early-onset Parkinson’s disease, Lucky has never let her disabilities define her limits. Instead, she is recognised as one of Australia’s cherished Paralympic Swimmers.
Training with the USC Spartans, Lucky’s journey to Paris 2024 is a testament to her hard work and excellent support system around her. The results from her 400m freestyle event saw her obtaining first place with a time of 4:45.79. This would not have been possible without the support of her coaches and family backing her journey.
Obtaining gold twice previously in the 400m freestyle S8 event, Lucky is ready to repeat history once again. She spoke to Nine News after her qualifying race:
“I’m pretty pleased with that. I went out pretty hard this morning, so I just aimed to back it up again tonight,” Patterson said. “It’s always really exciting times to obviously qualify my third Paralympics is exciting.”
The journey to Paris would not be short of any rigorous training sessions and unwavering support from her community and fan base. Her preparation now will be crucial, to aim to deliver her best performance.
Lucky’s qualification is a culmination of hard work, determination and perseverance. The Sunshine Coast sports community is incredibly proud of Lakeisha and her journey to international glory should be widely celebrated. Lucky is an inspiration to all athletes, and we look forward to seeing her rule the international stage!
Images sourced on Instagram: @lucky_patterson99
