Standing trackside halfway through an interview about the 400m race he just ran, Ori Drabkin stopped mid-sentence to cheer on his teammate. “Great race, well done, Matthew,” he called out to Matthew Howes, his Team South teammate. Moments later, it was athlete from Team East receiving words of encouragement from the finish line, Drabkin paused his chat to turn his attention to supporting other athletes.
It was a small moment, but it summed up why Drabkin was named the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) Athlete of the Meet at the inaugural Libby Kosmala Para Futures Cup at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra last month.
Presented to the VIS athlete who stood out across the event, the award recognised values that reflect the Win Well pledge: sportsmanship, helping others, cheering on his team, supporting every Para athlete around him and throwing himself into everything on offer.
True to form, Drabkin was quick to share the credit.
“I’m honoured to receive the award. I felt everyone played their part across the event,” he said.
It is a long way from where his Para sport story began. In Year 3, his vice principal pulled him aside at lunch and took him into his office.
“I thought I was in trouble,” Drabkin said.
Instead, the vice principal suggested he try Para athletics. Until then, Drabkin hadn’t known Para sport even existed.
“I was always into sport, but I never was any good at it. Learning it was an option I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is so cool,’ and I kept going and going,” he said.
Drabkin was born with cerebral palsy, which affects both limbs on his right side and his left leg. He competes in the T37/F37 classes in his main sport, Para athletics.
“In the next 12 months I want to run sub-13 in the 100m and make my way towards 12.5, and get some competition experience at the track classics and maybe even World Championships,” Drabkin said.
“Long term, I want to make the Australian team and compete at the Paralympics.”
Drabkin previously represented Australia at in 2023 in the 100m at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Trinidad and Tobago calling it “the best crowd I’ve ever run in front of and the fastest race I’ve ever run.”
“Even though I finished second by 0.03 seconds I think that taught me more than winning ever would have.”
The boy who thought he was never any good at sport is now the one setting the example.
On the final day in Canberra, he ran both the 100m and the 400m. The 100m is his pick, but said he was happy to test himself over the longer distance.
“It’s nice every once in a while, to test the legs around the 400,” Drabkin said.
“When you’re going down the last 100 metres, you’re probably starting to see different colours. But it’s a lot of fun.”
Waiting at the finish line was three-time Paralympian Chad Perris PLY. Perris is an elite visually impaired sprinter competing in the T13 classification and passionate for advocate for athletes and Para sport.
“We’re just running 100 metres and at the finish we’re greeted by Chad Perris,” Drabkin said.
“I feel like that’s pretty cool in itself.”
Just as valuable was who he was racing. At state and national level, Drabkin usually lines up against athletes across a range of classifications, and the last time he raced in his own class was back in 2023.
“It’s proper competition, and you can really push yourself against the people next to you,” he said.
Away from the track, he is helping others find their way into sport. He has helped create videos for AllPlay to support coaches working with children with disability.
“I don’t realise how little people know about Para sport until I see them try to coach or officiate,” he said.
On the track, he is looking out for the athletes following in his footsteps.
“I guess I’m also trying to be a mentor to people going through. I’m a bit old, but not very old,” he said. “There are some very young kids coming through that I hope to see in this sport for a lot of years.”
Asked what he would take home from Canberra, Drabkin pointed to the people.
“This weekend was a lot about meeting people and making connections,” he said.
“I feel like, you know, you’re in the right place when you’re surrounded by so many great athletes.”
Some of those athletes were his heroes, including Perris and Paralympian Sarah Walsh PLY. But it was the Paralympians he hadn’t met before who left the biggest impression.
“Being surrounded by ones that I hadn’t necessarily met before gives you more of an appreciation for what they do,” he said.
“They’re real people, they’re people just like us.”
And he had a reminder for his fellow athletes.
“Sometimes, you know, we’re athletes, we get a bit lost and we get a bit absorbed in the sport. But it’s good to take a step back and realise how cool it is what we’re doing,” he said.
Back home, Drabkin trains on the track twice a week. Now he has a few more friends in his corner.
