 Photo of Dylan Littlehales from the 2020 Australian Paralympic Team media guide | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  Australia | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 November 1999 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Avoca Kayak Club | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Dylan Littlehales (born 2 November 1999) is an Australian paracanoeist. He competed for Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.[1][2]
Littlehales was born on 2 November 1999.[3] At birth, his right leg had a deficiency with it missing some crucial ligaments and bones.[3] He has undergone 20 operations to improve the outcome but still has poor mobility and strength in the right leg.[3] He attended Kariong Mountains High School.[4] In 2021, He is undertaking a Bachelor of Science majoring in Psychology at the University of Newcastle.[5] He lives in Kariong, New South Wales.
He is classified as KL3 paracanoeist. His uncle Mike Druce, Australian slalom coach, introduced him to paracanoeing at the age of fourteen. He said: "I picked up the sport at the perfect time, because right after I started a new canoe club started about 20 minutes away from me. They had a bunch of boats and paddles, and then I got my own stuff eventually. It is difficult to be able to stay in the boat at first, just to sit fine in it can be a pretty physical thing. After learning that, it is more of a mental thing and building up physical strength."[6]
At the 2015 Australian Championships in Sydney, he finished second in the Men's K1 200 LTA and third in the Men's K1 500 and 1000 LTA events.[4] As a fifteen year old, he competed at the 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Milan.[4] He was the youngest competitor by three years. He finished eight in the Men's KL3 200m B Final.[6][4]
In 2016, he was the gold medallist at the Australian Championships in Perth, Western Australia and Oceania Championships in the Men's 200 m KL3.[4] At the 2016 ICF Paracanoe World Championships in Duisburg, Germany, he finished second in the Men's 200 m KL3 B Final. This qualified Australia a 2016 Rio Paralympics quota spot.[7] At the Rio Paralympics, at the age of seventeen, he finished sixth in the Men's KL3 semi-final and did not qualify for the final.[1]
In November 2016, he was awarded Australian Canoeing Junior Canoeist of the Year.[8]
At the 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Račice, Czech Republic, he finished fifth in the Men's KL3 200m.[9] At the 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal, he again finished fifth in the Men's KL3 200m.
At the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Szeged, Hungary, he finished fourth in the Men's KL3 200m.[10]
At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, Littlehales finished fourth in the Men's Men's KL3 200m.[11] He came second in his Heat and won his Semi-Final. He could not better his Semi-Final time of 40.234. If he had he would have won the Gold medal.[12]
Littlehales won his first international medal by winning the bronze medal in the Men's KL3 200m at the 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships.[13]
Littlehales is coached by Paul Hutchinson, David Birt and Shaun Caven and is a member of the Avoca Kayak Club.[4][3] He models his kayaking technique on two Australian kayakers - Lachlan Tame and Rob McIntyre.[4]
He also swims for the Gosford Stingrays Swim Club.[14]
