Nobody to international star in a few months!

Shannon Winchester went from a sprinting nobody to a global figure in a matter of months. True story.

The short story goes something like this.

Suffers a brain injury from a motorbike accident in 2017.

Has a 'joke' sprint race against a workmate.

Saw Alexa Leary dominate at the Paralympic Games.

Looked into Para-athletics in 2025.

Classified through the Future Green & Gold program in March.

Represented Australia at World's.

Competing in the able-bodied fields at Tassie Christmas Carnivals this month.

In his own words...“I started in the sport in March. I’d never worn spikes, never used blocks, arrived at my first race seven minutes before it started and had to face-time my friend to ask him how to set up and use the blocks".

“I’ve lived a big and fun life, with a hell of a lot of good stories to tell, but I’ve done very little that my two-year-old daughter can be truly proud of. This is a chance to compete and achieve something that she can look back on when she’s older ....”

It has been a meteoric rise, and with a personal best of 11.71 and a favourable mark, he'll be in the mix for his first Gift... in his first year of sprinting... at his first Tasmanian Carnivals.

“I want to podium at Worlds, win gold at Commonwealth Games, and set the T38 World Record at the Paralympics" he says... and you get to see him in action, up close here at home.

See schedules at

TasCarnivals.com.au