Two-time Paralympics gold medallist Jodi Willis-Roberts still remembers the rejection letter she got from a Ballarat company responding to her sponsorship request.
The "no" was unsurprising, but the reason for the rejection was shocking.
"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a massive kick in the guts.
"I actually kept, for quite a while, a number of rejection letters that I got as motivation to keep going and prove these people wrong and prove that we're every bit as deserving as our able-bodied counterparts."
The former Ballarat athlete competed at the 1988 Seoul Paralympics in goalball before adding shot put and discus to her repertoire, competing in all three sports at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
She competed in six Paralympics, winning two gold, two silver, and three bronze.
Push for parity
Willis-Roberts has thrown her support behind a push led by GWS footballer and Olympic gold medallist Chloe Dalton who was dismayed at the disparity between medal-winning Olympians and Paralympians.
Olympians get $20,000 from the Australian Olympics Committee (AOC) for winning gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze.
On top of that, at a previous Olympics a vehicle manufacturer threw a car into the deal for gold medallists.
Paralympians who win medals get no such bonuses, leading Dalton to start a crowdfunding page with all money raised to be split equally between Australian Paralympics medallists.
Willis-Roberts said the current situation showed the ongoing disparity between the two competitions.
"These games are supposed to be built on equality and equity," she said.
She said it was not the fault of Paralympics Australia, which is a separate entity to the AOC, which has to fund comparatively more athletes and support staff "given the whole nature of Paralympic sport and your different categories and different disabilities".
"But it's probably about time some rich company jumped on board and gave Paralympics Australia a bit of a hand up," Willis-Roberts said.
"[Paralympics Australia is] doing a great job. They've come a long way from my point of view.
"I imagine they're just working through what they've got in front of them at the moment and obviously the most important thing was getting the team to Tokyo."
Paralympics Australia declined an interview but said, in a statement, it backed the push for parity.
"Paralympics Australia absolutely agrees that our Paralympians deserve equity of recognition," the statement said.
"We've never had a funding program for Paralympic Games medallists as we just don't have this funding available from grants or sponsorships.
"This is something we will look at again after the Tokyo Games."
The battle continues
Willis-Roberts was a fierce competitor at the Games and has been fighting just as hard outside the arena.
She was involved in a decade-long battle to get Paralympians recognised at the Olympic precinct at Lake Wendouree in Ballarat in Victoria — a move opposed by the AOC.
The Paralympic precinct was finally opened in 2019 next to the Olympics area.
"I'm hoping that things are moving forward," she said.
"They're moving slowly, but they are moving, so at least we're going forward and that's a good thing I guess.
"I don't think disabled people are looked upon as equals and hopefully this Paralympics — and half the country being in lockdown and nothing else to do but watch the Paralympics, and it being on free-to-air and being so well covered — hopefully it will give it some more legs."
