Hannah Cockroft sets herself huge 100m world record goal ahead of 2024 Paralympics

‘Project 15’ is consuming Hannah Cockroft in the build-up to the Paralympics. The Hurricane rewrites wheelchair racing history every time she takes to the track as the holder of world records over five distances.

Adding to her seven Paralympic titles is the priority in Paris but Cockroft revealed she’s allowing herself to be distracted by the prospect of breaking a mythical barrier.

“The dream is to one day go under 16 seconds for the 100 metres,” says Cockroft. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen in Paris.

“It’s 0.3 seconds off my current world record, so it’s a big jump. I’m not making those jumps anymore.”

Cockroft might not be betting on herself, then, but there’s no reason to believe she won’t continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible on three wheels.

She’s more bullish on the prospect of lowering her brilliant 2022 world record of 1:44.43 in the 800m.

“That felt like the most incredible thing,” she remembers. “I would love to do that again; my aim would be to race that as a time trial with no-one to chase and see how close I can get.”

For the first time in Paris, Cockroft is eligible to race a leg of the universal relay - a mixed classification event that made its Games debut in Tokyo.

ParalympicsGB won silver in the inaugural staging of an event that brings together athletes with all kinds of disabilities in a stunning spectacle.

“I think it’s an incredible event,” she says. “It’s incredible to see the different changeovers, the different way each athlete deals with their disability and how they overcame it as a team.

“The wheelchair racer does the last leg, so if that comes down to me, that’s a lot of pressure!”

Nutrition is another crucial part of Cockroft’s approach to conditioning and preparation. Aldi, the Official Supermarket Partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes with a monthly food voucher, to fuel them through training, competitions, and past Olympic Games.

Cockroft often seems to be her own biggest competitor in the race for gold.

But this summer, for the first time since London 2012, she had to race a heat and a final to capture the world 400m title, a shift that she feels reflects increased global depth.

“The class is stronger than ever,” he says. “There was a worry between Rio and Tokyo that we would lose people from the sport given that the Games hadn’t reached the people we want it now.

“Now we’ve got a rivalry between me and Kare Adenegan and there are three girls who could get bronze. I’m the oldest on the start line and it’s terrifying knowing there are all these young people coming up behind you!”

That sense of peril is the force that will propel Cockroft towards a fifth Paralympics at LA 2028.

“I thought Tokyo would be my last and that felt so far away when I started in London,” she admits. “I’m not just still going, I am still getting quicker and most importantly I still love it, I still love getting out on that track.

“There’s no feeling like it and I really don’t think that Paris is going to be the end of that. LA will be a special one and I’d love to make it that far.”

Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024