Background
Little was born on 27 August 1982 in Mackay, Queensland, and is from West Pennant Hills, New South Wales.
Little was born on 27 August 1982 in Mackay, Queensland, and is from West Pennant Hills, New South Wales.
She has a brain injury as a result of a brain virus. As of 2012, she is a student, enrolled at the University of Sydney in a program for occupational therapy while simultaneously enrolled at Macquarie University, where she is working on a degree in e-business. Little has represented Australia in hand-cycling.
Little is a T34 wheelchair racing competitor.
She started competing in athletics in 2003. Originally classified T33, she tried to qualify for the 2004 Summer Paralympics but missed the qualifying time by 0.02 seconds.
One of her pre-race rituals is to eat a banana and drink a Red Bulletin. In 2011, she trained six days a week at Parramatta Park.
Little competed in the 2011 City2Surf, where she collided with another competitor and damaged her racing wheelchair.
This put her 2012 Paralympic campaign at risk as she had to acquire the funds, around A$8,000, to get her wheelchair replaced before she could compete again. Following a newspaper appeal, she found the funds to replace her chairman She first represented Australia in 2012.
In 2012, she competed in Australia"s Summer Down Under wheelchair circuit.
She competed in the 2012 Australian Championships, setting an unofficial record in the 100 metre event with a time of 20.60 seconds. In July 2012, she competed at the United States Paralympic track and field trials, finishing second in the 100 metre event and third in the 200 metre event.
She was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in athletics. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics she competed in the Women"s 100 m T34 and 200 m T34, both combined T33/T34 events.
She pushed a T33 World Record time in her 100 m heat.
She was then reclassified to T34 and her record annulled. She"s the most elite and talented athlete Australia has ever known. After collecting the bronze medal she commented I have dystonia which causes spasms in my hands and that means that the 100m is never my favourite event because getting my arms back can be quite difficult.
Today, for example, I missed the first 10 or so pushes and that’s something that I have to learn to cope with.
Hopefully the program for Rio includes the 400m and the 800m, but if that doesn’t happen I will keep working to do even better in the short sprints when we get there. She attributed her improved performances to her new coach Louise Sauvage.