HE has trained alongside Kurt Fearnley for years, and now Rheed McCracken is well on his way to emulating the wheelchair-racing legend as a five-time Paralympian.
McCracken was one of 10 Para-athletes who were named on Monday as the first members of the Australian team to compete at the Tokyo Games next year.
It will be the third Paralympics for the 23-year-old from Charlestown, having also competed at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
McCracken has already claimed four Paralympic medals - a silver and a bronze at both London and Rio respectively - and also has seven podium finishes at IPC World Championships from 2013 to 2019.
At 15, he was the youngest male in the overall Australian team at London eight years ago.
The Tokyo Games, originally scheduled to start last month, were deferred because of the coronavirus pandemic until August 24 next year.
McCracken told the Newcastle Herald last month it was "a strange feeling" dealing with the 12-month postponement.
"You build up to this for years and then it all changes," he said.
"I'm pretty structured so the change threw me out a little bit.
"But you've just to keep going on with everything ... fingers crossed everything goes right and we can get out there and compete in Tokyo."
The other nine Para-athletes named were team veterans Madison de Rozario and Michael Roeger, who have each competed in three Paralympic Games, Vanessa Low, Eliza Ault-Connell, Jaryd Clifford, Deon Kenzie, Rhiannon Clarke, Sarah Edmiston and Corey Anderson.
Low won a gold medal and a silver medal for Germany in the long jump T61-63 at the 2016 Rio Games before moving to Australia.
Australian Team Chef de Mission Kate McLoughlin said it was "a really important moment" to announce the first Para-athletes who were the first selected.
"These athletes have certainly earned their spots," she said. "They've achieved an automatic qualification through their results at the 2019 World Para-Athletics Championships.
"It's hugely significant to finally be able to announce the first group of athletes on the 2020 Team. The last six months have been challenging for everybody. We now have 12 months to go and have a fantastic piece of good news to focus on."
