Caroline Hammat
After becoming a world champion rower in 2023, Millicent born Jed Altschwager is now preparing to compete at the 2024 Paris Paralympics with his mixed double pair Nikki Ayers.
The sporting duo won gold at last year’s mixed double pair World Rowing Championships in Belgrade adding to the silver he previously won in the men’s pair at the 2019 World Rowing Championships with James Talbot.
Mr Altschwager and Ms Ayers will leave Adelaide on August 5 and spend time training at the Australian Institute of Sports training centre in Italy before they compete in their heat on August 26.
“It’s a home away from home, we will be there for about three weeks before Paris.
“It’s a beautiful part of Northern Italy, it’s quiet and has really good training facilities.”
Following the training in Italy the pair will then move into the Olympic Village in Paris.
“I think in our part of the village we’ve got Australians, Canadians and the Kiwis, there are thousands of athletes so I’m excited.”
Mr Altschwager picked up the sport during rehabilitation after a 2015 workplace accident resulted in the loss of his lower left leg.
“Through rehab and a number of other areas I started looking at the opportunities rather than the negative stuff” Mr Altschwager said.
“It was at the start of 2017, I started rowing and then made my first national team.
“I headed over to the world championships in Bulgaria in 2018 and came home with silver.”
He missed out on competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when the selection was for a mixed four team.
“I was doing quite well in the pairs and then Tokyo selection was for a mixed four, basically there were eight athletes going for four spots.
“Through selection, and the brutal part of sport, I was narrowly short and I took a year off.
“When the pair class was announced for the Paris cycle, that suited the way I row and my impairment.
“We basically went for it from there.
“I’ve got another double partner, Nikki Ayers, who moved to Adelaide about a year and a half ago and we had a great year last year.”
Training for elite sport is intense and Mr Altschwager has trained six days a week for seven years at both West Lakes and Murray Bridge.
Although Mr Altschwager was only four when he left Millicent to live in Adelaide most of his family are spread between Beachport and Mount Gambier and he regularly visits the South East.
Training continues during his visits to the South East and Mr Altshwager brings his road bike for land based training.
He also spoke highly of the support received at Millicent’s Ignition Fitness gym saying the owner, Adam Wiese, is ‘awesome.’
Family members will be gathering together to watch Mr Altschwager and Ms Ayers’ heat with his mum and dad, Susan and Wally Altschwager, making the trip to Paris along with other family members to watch the race in person.
Heidi Prouse and her family will be heading to Adelaide to watch her brother’s race with his wife, Jess, and two children.
“It’s very exciting, we are hoping he wins his first heat and gets straight through to the final” Ms Prouse said.
“Jed has put in a lot of effort, it’s been very hard work, people don’t realise what goes into it.
“We just want them to go and enjoy the experience and hopefully come away with the gold.
“But it is what it is, it’s part of the journey and anything can happen in rowing.”
Ms Prouse’s 17 year-old son has received an early 18th birthday present in the form of a ticket to Paris and will be joining his grandparents in cheering on his uncle.
Mr Altschwager has said it’s too early to say if this will be his last Paralympic cycle, but said he definitely wants a break.
“If I had to make a call now I would say no but you never know what the landscape will look like and what opportunities show themselves.
“So I am always open to that but I am also keen to have a look at the next chapter in my career.
“Hopefully I can stay in elite sport, I would love to help in elite sport organisations.”
There is no doubt two of the largest cheers will be coming from Mr Altschwagers young children, Wolfgang and Aspen.
At seven and five the two children have a good understanding of what their father is undertaking and he has even spoken at their school assembly which he said the children loved.
“It’s been really special to share that with them and Jess, my wife, is extremely supportive.
“She has to pick up a fair bit of the slack, it’s a massive team effort.”
When asked what he was most looking forward to Mr Altschwager said “Being able to put on the green and gold and represent your country and represent your family and in a way represent who you are and where you have come from is quite important.
“I’m looking forward to the competitive side of it, showing the world and the rowing community what we can do in that double and how we can go.
“It’s a pretty crazy world to be a part of for the last seven years, it’s full on, so i’m also looking forward to a bit of a break.”
