Sarah Clifton-Bligh (athletics) made her senior Australian debut at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games while still a teenager, finishing fifth in the women’s 100m T33/34 while setting Games record for the T33 classification.

Born and raised in Sydney, Clifton-Bligh has been living with cerebral palsy since birth. The condition causes her to suffer from severe co-ordination impairment in all four of her limbs and trunk. Dabbling in both track and field events, Clifton-Bligh began racing after she took rein of the infamous ‘blue chair’ which launched the careers of Commonwealth Gold medallists Angela Ballard and Kurt Fearnley AO. In 2021, she was awarded the Kurt Fearnley Scholarship – a joint venture between Commonwealth Games Australia and the Carbine Club NSW, supporting young para-athletes with their journey to the 2022 Birmingham Games.

She made her Olympic debut in Paris in 2024 where she finished 10th in the women’s shot put F32 and 16th in the women’s club throw. She has also competed in both track and field events at World Para Athletics Championships in Paris in 2023 and Kobe in 2024, reaching consecutive finals in the 100m and 800m T34, as well as seventh places in the women’s shot put F32.

Clifton-Bligh is coached by Manchester 2002 silver medallist Louise Sauvage OAM, who has played a role in her development since her junior days.