All in javelin

By CASEY NEILL
FERNTREE Gully athlete Madeleine Hogan is on her way to London.
The 23-year-old will compete in the F46 javelin event at the Paralympic Games and hopes to better her performance in Beijing four years ago, where she picked up a bronze medal.
“If I can go over there and put up a good comp – all I really want to achieve is a personal best,” she said.
“That should be enough to put me on the dais.”
Hogan was at an athletics team camp in Brisbane when she spoke to the Mail last week.
“It’s crunch time at the moment,” she said.
With less than 80 days until the games she’s completing two sessions a day – two hours in the gym and two and a half on the track – plus rehab and treatment.
“It’s now that you realise everything counts,” she said.
“There are no shortcuts. Everything’s focussed on that one day. It is a lot of pressure.”
But it’s something she’s come to terms with over the years.
“And most of it comes from myself,” she said.
“It’s about knowing you’ve done the hard yards.”
It’s just over 12 months since Hogan had elbow surgery to repair a torn ligament, and a broken hand earlier this year provided another setback to her preparations.
“But apart from that things are all going well,” she laughed.
“It was probably good to have a little bit of forced time off.”
She’s still got as many competitions under her belt as possible in the lead up to Paralympic selection.
She took home the F46 javelin gold medal at the International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships in New Zealand in March last year. Her 37.79 metre throw was more than four metres clear of her nearest rival.
The F46 paralympic category refers to athletes with a single above or below elbow amputation or with normal leg function but impairment in the arms or trunk.
Hogan was born without a left hand. She has a background in cricket and played for the Victorian able-bodied squad in her teens.
Her javelin coach John Eden spotted her competing at a school athletics day and set about convincing her to take up the challenge. She was reluctant at first.
“Because I was so into cricket, and the training was pretty full on,” she said.
“But I realised I wanted to represent Australia, to go higher. The Paralympics was a great opportunity to do that.”
Her games selection was a relief.
“It’s always good to get that little bit of pressure off your back,” she said.
“You can re-check where you’re at and concentrate on the event.”