Gippsland athlete, Luke Missen, has been chosen to represent Australia in this year’s World Dwarf Games to be held in Cologne, Germany.
The 8th World Dwarf Games will run from July 28 to August 5 and are expected to welcome more than 500 athletes from across 20 countries.
The games are the largest international sporting event which is held exclusively for athletes with dwarfism. Participants of all ages and every level of ability are encouraged to compete in individual and team events and to explore their athletic abilities.
Luke, who originally hails from Denison, now lives in Eagle Point and will be competing in basketball, badminton and soccer. This will be his second World Dwarf Games and Luke and his basketball teammates are hoping to improve on their bronze medal from the games in 2017.
He attributes his skills, especially his hand-eye coordination to his background playing tennis, basketball and badminton but never thought that when he started his sporting journey eight years ago he would be representing his country on the world stage.
“Luke’s achievements to date are impressive. He is the reigning Australian national champion in the short stature SH6 class for para-badminton, claiming this title every year since 2015. In addition, he has represented Australia since 2015 in the Para-Badminton World Championships in the UK, South Korea, Switzerland and Japan,” said Federal Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester.
“I wish Luke the best of luck in Germany and congratulate him on his remarkable achievements to date.”
For more information on the World Dwarf Games you can visit the Australian Sports Foundation website:Â https://asf.org.au/pro…/short-statured-people-of-australia
