At just 22, Danielle is taking charge of her campaign support team as she eyes up the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games following her breakthrough gold medal performance at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris.
Her performance in Paris was stunning. Not just winning gold in the T36 200m but decimating the field on her way to victory and smashing her own Oceania record, followed by a World Championship record equalling performance in the 100m heats.
While Danielle’s team talk about her growing confidence, speak with Danielle and she attributes the breakthrough to the dramatic changes made to her running technique by coach Alan McDonald and HPSNZ Strength & Conditioning coach George Wardell over a six month period leading up to the World Championships.
Legendary Athletics NZ Para coach, Raylene Bates, has been keeping an eye on Danielle since she was an up and coming youngster, talent spotted at the Halberg Games.
“Danielle was one of those young athletes who seemed to try and excel at most sports but it soon became evident her real potential was in sprinting,” says Raylene.
“A medal winning performance at the 2019 World Champs was the real start of Danielle’s self-belief. She was starting to think yes I can do this.”
Tokyo 2020 saw that self-belief turn into medals in the 100m and 200m, at the same time building her quiet confidence on and off the track.
George has been working with Danielle and coach Alan McDonald for more than four and a half years as her Strength & Conditioning coach, also using his biomechanics background to support the evolution of Danielle’s running technique.
“Not only has Danielle worked relentlessly to improve her technical sprinting skills, at the same time she has quietly and deliberately built a small, closeknit support team.
“Danielle knows what she needs from the team. She is the CEO and demonstrates excellent management skills for someone so young.
“I think another real strength Danielle has is her understanding of what we are trying to achieve technically. She will look at the exercises I prescribe for her in the gym and can then connect them to parts of her running technique.
“Historically her running cadence has been good but at times has a step length that was too short. So we asked the question what if we increased each step by 1cm, by 3cm.
“Danielle’s performance at the World Champs and her fantastic times are testament to that understanding, connection and dedication to keep improving,” says George.
