Dylan Littlehales

A rising star in Para-canoe, Dylan Littlehales made his Australian debut at 15, hitting international waters for the first time at the 2015 International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Sprint and Para-canoe World Championships in Milan, Italy. Although he was the youngest competitor in Milan by three years, Dylan raced strongly to record a top eight result in the B final of the men’s kayak KL3.

A combination of hard work and raw talent meant that it did not take Dylan long to prove to selectors that he was worthy of a place on the 2016 Australian Paralympic Team. Training under David Birt and Paul Hutchinson, he spent six days a week on the water and three days a week in the gym preparing for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, modelling his style after Australian able-bodied paddlers Lachlan Tame and Rob McIntyre.

Dylan not only achieved his goal of a Paralympic debut in Rio, but placed sixth in his semi-final, finishing just 2.406 seconds behind the fastest qualifier and shaving more than a second off the time he clocked in his heat.

Since then, Dylan has been in the form of his life. At the 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Račice, Czech Republic, he finished two steps from the podium in fifth place, and won his first international medal – a bronze – at the 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint and Para-canoe World Cup in Szeged, Hungary. He placed fourth at the 2019 ICF Para-canoe World Championships, also in Szeged.

At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Dylan progressed to the men’s KL3 200m final, finishing in 4th position with a time of 0:41.280.