Athletics: Malone seeks speed help

Rio Paralympics Gold Medal champ, Blade Runner Liam Malone. Photo / Dean Purcell

Liam Malone wants to be the fastest man on the planet - and will be targeting some of the biggest companies in the world to help him achieve that goal.

Malone won two gold medals and one silver at the Rio Paralympics, and was recently named Disabled Athlete of the Year at the Halberg Awards.

His next goal is to run the 400m in under 43s, which would beat the able-bodied record of 43.03s set by Wayde van Niekerk in Rio.

Malone sees it as a technological challenge as much as an athletic one, and will be approaching the likes of Google and Facebook, as well as other United States-based tech companies, for assistance.

"My overriding goal over the next four years is to become the fastest person on the planet over 400m," said Malone.

"To do that, I'll need to get really good companies behind me to make it happen. Companies that are innovative and have internal resources or external connections that can help make things happen. I will be talking to Google and Facebook - and other organisations with large amounts of capital - who may want to get involved in it and change the world."

Malone's personal best over 400m is 46.20s but he has no doubts he can achieve his goal.

"I have three seconds between my personal best and van Niekerk's record. Last year, I dropped four seconds. It may sound unrealistic to someone who sees me as an athlete but I'm really an end user of technology. It's about how much we can innovate around the technology.

"Sure, I need to improve my physical capabilities as an athlete, but more importantly it is about innovating on the blades and the technology around the blades. That combination will allow me to progress faster than an able-bodied person."

But his venture won't be cheap, as it costs around $30,000 for a pair of blades as the finished product.

"I'm not looking to raise capital per se," said Malone. "It's more about collaborating with technology companies and using their resources to make it happen."

Malone has a packed calendar in 2017 - including the world championships in July in London - though there is some uncertainty over his plans due to an injury.

Malone is on crutches, battling a soft tissue injury to both his legs.

"There is some inflammatory tissue at the end of the stump," said Malone. "It's quite painful and in the worst case scenario, I could be ruled out of running, but I don't think that is going to happen. But I may have to change my schedule for this year."