Instagram Takeover: Jaryd Clifford

World Champion, World Record Holder, World Best - All this at just 21 years of age, whilst also studying at university.

When Jaryd made his Paralympic debut as a fresh-faced 17-year-old at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, no one could have predicted that four years later, he would be the man to beat at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Running with a vision impairment has its challenges, and as Jaryd’s sight deteriorates, he must continue to adapt. He is now running with a guide, best mate and long-time training partner Tim Logan, and because they have run together for years, they already naturally take the same strides. If ever there was a dynamic duo, these two are it, and it is a partnership that is serving Jaryd extremely well in the lead-up to Tokyo.

He recently "accidentally" broken the marathon world record in the T12 class for vision impaired athletes, finishing in a time of 2:19:08. He broke the previous record by almost two-and-a-half minutes, but what's even more impressive is the fact that he'd never run a marathon before, and didn't even intend on finishing the race!

Away from the track, Jaryd is studying a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne and is a keen and talented writer. Check out how he balances life as an elite runner and university student 


The Victorian Institute of Sport are proudly supported by Open Universities Australia, who are both in support of National Careers Week from May 17 - 23. Click HERE for more information about National Careers Week.  

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