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7 months ago
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Furious Paralympian Karni Liddell has warned she'll need a forklift to access Brisbane's budget Olympics stadium as she was joined by a host of other Aussie greats in blasting the city's preparations for the 2032 Games.
Last month Queensland Premier Steven Miles confirmed his government will ignore advice from an independent review and refurbish the 49-year-old Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC) as the main venue for the Olympics and Paralympics.
That will make it the smallest venue used for the world's premiere sporting event since the 1928 Olympics - leading to 14 Aussie stars writing an open letter to Miles calling for him to come up with a new plan.
Paralympian Karni Liddell (pictured) has lashed out at the Queensland Government's plan to use a 49-year-old stadium for the 2032 Games
The swimmer - who won medals at the 1996 and 2000 Games - said Paralympians have been 'used' and 'left out of the decisions' about facilities in Brisbane
Liddell - who won medals at the 1996 and 2000 Paralympics - joined big names including Grant Hackett, Sally Pearson, Leisel Jones and Geoff Huegill in slamming the decision.
'Paralympians have been left out of the decisions and this stadium one has been the hardest one to listen to,' she told News Corp.
'They used us really well for the bid. Every events and discussion about legacy has mentioned accessibility, so I'm really disappointed in the coverage and government speaking on it and not mentioning [the] Paralympics at all.
'In [the Paralympics in] Athens I got into a forklift because there was no accessibility and that's what will happen here.'
Canoer Curt McGrath - who has won three Paralympic gold medals - shared her concerns, saying: 'QSAC is good for what it is currently serving but but the Paralympics or Olympics? Definitely not.'
Brisbane's plan to use the 49-year-old Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (pictured) as the main Olympic and Paralympic venue has been blasted by some of the biggest names in Australian sport
In their open letter the 14 stars begged Miles to reverse the QSAC decision, writing: 'Frankly, a main stadium with a capacity of only 40,000 would be an embarrassment which in no way would represent the go-ahead spirit of Queensland.
'We all remember the magnificent event that Sydney put on in 2000. Queensland deserves something equally spectacular, without a centrepiece that would reek of compromise.'
Other Olympics stars to put their name to the plea include Brooke Hanson, Jon Sieben, Andrew Baildon and Jessicah Schipper.
Last month's revelation about the use of QSAC also left other sporting greats in disbelief.
NRL club boss and footy identity Phil Gould led the charge, writing: 'Oh please... it's the Olympic Games... our country will be on show to the world... build it big and build it special.'
Olympics great Grant Hackett (pictured) was among the 14 sporting heroes to pen an open letter to Queensland Premier Steven Miles, begging him to come up with a new plan
Hackett was joined by his fellow Games greats Sally Pearson (left) and Leisel Jones (right)
Four-time Olympic swimming champion Cate Campbell also lashed out at the situation, saying: 'I think that we are really squandering an incredible opportunity by all this bickering, by short-term visions, by the government looking for ways to keep themselves in a job as opposed to what will actually be good for south-east Queensland in the future.'
Queensland athletics legend Raelene Boyle - who won three Olympic silvers and multiple Commonwealth Games golds - said the use of the old stadium, previously known as QEII, could make it 'look like cheapskates are running the Games'.
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