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The tiny country town in NSW has a reputation for breeding top-quality athletes: Dally M medallists, AFL premiership players, Olympic gold medallists and now Scott Reardon.
The 26-year-old Paralympian took the men’s T42 100m title in record time on Thursday (Friday AEST), and was overjoyed to join the club.
“Excellence is kind of bred into the town,” Reardon said.
“When there’s not a lot else to do except play sport, you play sport.”
Other athletes to come out of the Riverina town include rugby league great Trent Barrett, three-time AFL premiership player Luke Breust, world champion triathlete Brad Kahlefeldt and Olympic swimmer Mark Kerry.
Reardon’s uncle Steve played over 150 games for the Canterbury Bulldogs.
And don’t forget legendary harness racing horse Paleface Adios.
Not bad for a town with a population of around 4,000 people.
And Reardon, a London silver medallist who is also a world champion water-skier, stacks up with the best of them.
The two-time defending world champion ran a Paralympic record to take gold in Rio, exactly the same time he set in the heats the previous day.
“I jogged in the heat and ran as hard as I could then and couldn’t run any faster,” he said.
At the age of 12, Reardon got his shoelace caught in the shaft of a tractor and severed his right leg through the knee.
The Temora community rallied around him.
“There’s a whole band of people who were able to get me through my accident,” Reardon said.
“I owe a lot to all of those guys back home.”
Reardon said beers will be flowing for his old man and the family at the local pub, the Shamrock Hotel.
“When they got up the first night they were surprised they didn’t get a noise complaint from the neighbours because they were yelling at the TV,” he said.
Do they think Reardon is the best sporting achievement to come out of the town?
“Well, Paleface Adios still has a statue in the main street, so he probably still sits at the top,” he said.
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