Kelly Cartwright (pictured), a world 100 metres champion who has overcome cancer, is among the leading contenders for London as she looks to compete at a second successive Paralympic Games.

Long jump, discus and shot put competitor Jessica Gallagher, the first Australian woman to win a medal at a Winter Paralympics, as well as the only athlete competing in both a summer and winter sport for her country, and Madeleine Hogan, who won a bronze medal in Beijing four years ago in the javelin competition, will also hope to secure a spot in London.

Fellow IPC Athletics World Championship competitors from Christchurch last year – Brad Scott and Simon Patmore – are also set to compete in Melbourne.

Sprinter Evan O'Hanlon (pictured) will also be a major hope for Australia in London after he won three gold medals in Beijing.


Andrew Faichney, Athletics Australia Paralympic preparation programme manager, said: "We have worked tirelessly in recent weeks and months to prepare our team as best we can, including a classification camp in Brisbane just weeks ago, and we are confident that this significant investment thanks to the Australian Paralympic Committee and the Australian Sports Commission will deliver when it counts.

"It's great to see so many athletes preparing for competition here in Melbourne next week.

"It's a crucial opportunity for so many to stake their claim for nomination to the Australian Paralympic Committee for selection to the London team.

"The team for London is taking shape as best as we can hope so far, and with solid performances at the Nationals I am confident that we can expand further on the number of spots offered to track and field on the Paralympic team."

Australia will be hoping for a similarly impressive performance to that they achieved in Beijing, where they were the second most successful nation in the Paralympic athletics competition, picking up 10 gold medals and nine silvers.

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