World Para Athletics Grand Prix: For Vanessa Low, each tattoo tells a story

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The tattoos on Vanessa Low’s right forearm might look like something out of a cryptographic book but the stories behind them are fairly straightforward. They are the geographical locations of some of the 34-year-old’s most memorable accomplishments – at least in the start of her career.

The tattoo right on top is the geographical location of Kanteerava stadium in Bangalore where as an 18-year-old she made her international athletics debut for Germany at the 2009 Para World Games. As starts go, the competition wasn’t the most successful for Low who didn’t medal. “It was very chaotic. The transport didn’t work well and there were all sorts of struggles but I loved every minute of it,” she says.

Bangalore is followed by the locations of Christchurch, Lyon and Doha, locations of the 2011, 2013 and 2015 Para Athletics World Championships. While the last tattoo represents Low’s participation at the Doha World Championships where she won her first World Championships gold medal in the women’s long jump T42 event, it doesn’t come close to documenting the entirety of her accomplishments.

Now 34-year Low is one of para sports’ most distinguished athletes. She would go on to win gold medals at three successive Paralympic games — in the women’s long jump T42 event for Germany at Rio and subsequently the T63 category at the Tokyo and Paris Games in 2021 and 2024 for Australia to which she switched allegiance after marrying coach Scott Reardon. She’s also won gold medals at the 2019 and 2024 World Championships and a bronze at the 2023 Worlds.

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Low’s not done just yet. She’s currently in New Delhi, competing at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix. She’s favourite to win gold here of course but that’s not her target – she’s using the competition as preparation for the 2025 Para Athletics World Championships that will be held here in September this year.

If Low shows no signs of stopping, it’s because she isn’t motivated solely by medals or accomplishments. “I was fairly unfortunate and fortunate that I wasn’t very talented when I started out. It took me seven years to win my first Paralympic medal,” says Low who lost both her legs above the knee in a train accident in her youth.

“I found the beauty in the sport before I won my first gold medal. So, nothing much changed after that medal. I thought I would be done after Paris. I thought I would be able to let go. But I really love the training. I feel I can achieve more. I feel it’s hard to leave the sport when you know you can do better. I am aware of my age but as long as I love it, I will continue. I’m motivated not just by getting a chance to compete but also by how I can change how others see the sport,” she says.

Alongside her own career, Low has seen the sport grow. “When you compare things to how it was when I started, there’s so much difference. It’s become a lot more professional. It’s structured in a really professional way. The professionalism has changed so much. Now you really have to be committed for a longer period of time. It’s not that you can join a sports club and be a gold medallist in a year. You have to train every single day year after year and sacrifice a lot to be on the top. And that I think is even more rewarding,” she says.

The challenge to stay competitive has become even more competitive in recent years for Low who became a mother to a son (Matteo) three years ago. “It’s not easy to balance my family life alongside a competitive sports career. I have to try to make sure I can train and recover while also giving time to my family. It’s about finding a balance,” she says.

Low doesn’t think this is a bad thing. “The fact that I have to balance my family and work means I have developed the habits that make me a better athlete,” she says.

Becoming a mother has given Low another purpose – taking her sport to a wider audience. “Matteo is now at an age where he understands there is a difference between me, my husband and him. My husband has a prosthetic leg as well so Matteo is almost the odd one out. He is at the age where his buddies and friends ask about it. He is proud of it. He thinks I have computerised legs. His perception is different. I think it’s important because kids think we are different but that can be a positive. But kids should be able to see this without their parents having to have disabilities,” she says.

What this means is that Low wants to increase the popularity of the sport and take it to a wider audience. “The one thing we need to work on is that we need to get more people behind us. We need to get the word out. Even before having my own son, I felt it was important to invite conversations. A lot of time I go to the grocery store and kids are curious and parents are embarrassed about it and want to shut the conversation because they think it’s rude. I think people are only scared about what they don’t understand so I have the kids touch the (prosthetic) leg and ask silly questions. All of a sudden they understand and it’s not a big deal. That’s what I want to do for para sports.” she says.

The best way to do this is to continue to compete at the highest level, so Low will continue to push herself for as long as she can. “I would love to jump the 6m mark. It seems really far because when I started out the WR was 3.79m. I’ve ticked off a lot of milestones and I’ve jumped 5.92m in practice just before the 2024 Olympics. So I don’t think that’s far,” she says.

As she continues to push herself, Low has set herself a daunting task – compete and medal at the 2028 Paralympics. Should she get there, it’s likely that Low would have a whole bunch of other accomplishments to her name. All this of course means Low will soon have another challenge on her mind – trying to find space to commemorate the rest of her accomplishments. “I guess once I fill up my right arm, I’ll have to go down my left arm,” she says.