Three Paralympians talk about how disability altered their lives in documentary Changing Track

Emily Petricola was 27, running her own business helping others streamline theirs, had just bought her first home, got a puppy, and loved rowing.

Then one day, she found herself repeatedly falling over.

Assuming it was the polished floor of a client's office, Petricola bought new shoes. But it kept happening, ultimately leading to a diagnosis of "invisible disability" multiple sclerosis.

"I spent the first few years of my illness pretending like it wasn't happening, suffering in silence," Petricola recalls.

Now a world-record-holding Paralympian who claimed her second gold medal at Paris 2024, Petricola also works as the Paralympic unit lead at the South Australian Sports Institute.

Changing Track

She shares her remarkable story alongside fellow Paralympian cyclists Kane Perris and Korey Boddington in the new documentary, Changing Track.

Directed by Tristan Kenyon and co-written with his brother Timothy, it's a fly-on-the-wall film tracing the road to Paris, with all three competitors sharing their backstories. 

"There were only a very few select people who really understood how horrible the first seven years of my life with this disease were," Petricola says. 

"So to then realise, holy shit, the whole world's about to hear all of this was pretty confronting."

As uncomfortable as it was, Petricola says sharing these stories matters, throwing her weight behind International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPWD), highlighting that one in five Australians has a disability.

"Hopefully the film gives people the opportunity to bounce off it," she says. 

"To have a chat with colleagues, friends and family around their challenges, what they've learned from their experience and how things could be improved for people with disability."

Petricola notes that the lived experience of disability is infinitely diverse. 

"From fairly mild, all the way through high-support needs, there's a full spectrum," she says.

While Petricola stresses the Paralympics aren't the only pathway forward, she wishes it were more open.

"There are a lot of people who aren't eligible," she says. 

"There's a bit more visibility for those who have a physical disability or visual impairment, but not so much for people with neurological diversity."

Now she's working on the support side, Petricola loves that she can help as many people as possible. 

"This allows me to do that on a really big scale. We're changing people's lives, engaging them in sport whether they head to the Paralympics or not."

Creating community

Vision-impaired cyclist Kane Perris, younger brother of fellow Paralympian Chad Perris, has lived with albinism all his life. 

He's also a trainer at the WA Institute of Sport.

"I always say that our stories aren't special," Perris says. 

"But the Paralympic logo gives us a really unique position, where we can spread the message of hope, determination and resilience to the wider community."

He felt a real sense of safety during the production of the Changing Track, which unfortunately captured a terrible accident at the velodrome that ended his campaign.

"That's a testament to the filmmakers, Tristan and Tim, and the work they put in," Perris says. 

"I didn't go into Paris thinking, 'All right, I'm going super deep and vulnerable on my storytelling'. I had the blinkers on, fully focused on competition, and I could not give a toss about anything else."

But back home, Perris realises the film's potential. 

The raised profile of the Paralympics in recent years, on both the public broadcasters and commercial channels in Australia, has been transformative.

"Things have changed so much since Sydney 2000," Perris says. 

"Brisbane 2032 will have an amazing impact on the Australian community. With the uplift in funding from the government, we have seven years of momentum to build towards that."

He's proud of the film. 

"The documentary highlights that no matter what stage of life you're in, we can create a powerful community around us. And maybe someone hasn't found that yet, but it could be just around the corner."

Helping others only amplifies the experience for Perris.

"Em and I are both in such a perfect position, where we're not only competing for ourselves in the Paralympic movement, but we're also supporting the next generation."

Unbreakable spirit

Korey Boddington joined Petricola in breaking a world record and bringing home a gold medal from Paris.

Brought up in Mooloolaba, Queensland, he's no stranger to breaking stuff. 

While in high school, he was hit by a car while retrieving a ball during a cricket match, losing half a kidney, snapping bones and experiencing nerve damage.

Later, the keen motocross enthusiast was shot off his dirt bike, dying at the scene before being resuscitated. He lives with an acquired brain injury.

An irrepressible character, he couldn't get back on track, literally, quickly enough.

He brings this unbreakable spirit to competing. 

"It's always striving to be the best you can be," he says. 

Perris notes, of Boddington's journey: "Imagine if the Paralympics had more exposure, Corey might have found the sport earlier and could have been a gold medallist in Tokyo."

Boddington is making up for lost time. 

Nevertheless, he felt like an impostor, standing on the podium. 

"I was fighting disbelief, because I never thought about winning. I was just focused on going as fast as I could," he says.

Like Perris, he can't wait to bring the Paralympics home.

"The French crowd was incredible, but all I could think was, 'Man, this is going to be so good, seeing the stadium full of green and gold,'" Boddington says.

"I had a couple of friends in Paris, but none of my family, because I only found out two weeks before we left. Hopefully my extended family can make it to Brisbane, because it's going to be bloody awesome."

As for IDPWD, Boddington says with a cheeky glint in his eye. 

Changing Track releases in Australian cinemas on December 3