Nine months after making his Paralympic Games debut, Jonathan Goerlach is preparing to make another dream come true in 2022.
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The Wollongong-based Para-triathlete was on Wednesday named in Australia's triathlon squad for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. It is the first time the Para-triathlon vision impaired event has taken place at the Games.
Goerlach - who has a hearing and degenerative visual impairment - will again by joined by guide David Mainwaring, the man who was by the 39-year-old's side when he finished sixth in Tokyo last August. The father-of-two, who took up triathlon about a decade ago, said he was proud to get his chance to compete at a Commonwealth Games.
"It wasn't something I was factoring into a career goal initially, being a Para-athlete, because it's not as common for Paralympians to compete at Commonwealth Games. Although I followed sport all of my life and followed the Comm Games, it wasn't something I would have the opportunity to do. So I feel quite fortunate to compete at the Games alongside my able-bodied teammates," Goerlach said.
"I've got a training room set up and have all my medals and certificates, but I also have about 20 Australian race suits hanging up and they all mean the world to me. Just to have that opportunity to represent your country in a sport that you love, and represent your family and your peers, and teammates.
"There's not many bigger opportunities in the world than to represent your country, I'm really looking forward to it."
The Australian triathlon squad will fly out to Japan on Thursday as prepares ramp up for the Birmingham Games, which will begin in July. Three-time Paralympian Gerrard Gosens will lead the team alongside Goerlach, Sam Harding and Erica Burleigh.
The lead-up will have a similar feel to Tokyo for Goerlach, with the squad set to enter a 'COVID bubble'.
"COVID is still around, so the one thing we can take away from the Paralympics experience is not just the big Games experience, but the lead in with the protocols that we need to follow. We're getting a bit better at it now, so I assume it will be a similar process coming into the Commonwealth Games," Goerlach said.
"There's obviously a lot nations in the Commonwealth competing, compared to the Paralympics, so there's a greater chance to get on the podium. And that's what we're chasing."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
