Championing Inclusion: The Push for Adaptive Sports in the Paralympics

The dedication and achievements of athletes like Alex Cherny serve as a powerful reminder of the transformative power of sport and the urgent need for true inclusion in the global sports arena.

Alex is one of the newer members of the Bayley House community and is a high level athlete. Alex is an Alpine Skier having represented Australia in the Advanced Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super G events at the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025. The games resulted in a bronze medal win. Alex is now preparing for the Virtus Skiing Championships in Italy and Austria in late January and early February 2026.

For Alex, the pursuit of sporting excellence goes beyond the clock. He attributes his success in sport to building essential life skills. As he puts it, “I have learnt how to become fitter and stronger through ongoing and regular training and competition. This determination and success builds my resilience and self-confidence which I use daily at work, education and in life opportunities.”

This resilience has extended to championing the rights of athletes with varying disability. A significant gap remains in truly global sports events where there is an absence of adapted sports. These are sports where the athletes are people with intellectual disability.

The Inclusive Games is a movement that is encouraging people to support the inclusion of adapted sports to have a truly inclusive Paralympic Games in 2030. If you would like to read more about this movement please click here.

We wish Alex every success at his upcoming competitions and will be cheering for him!