\u201cHer kindness, her determination and her warmth touched our family every single day.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe brought so much joy and pride into our lives, and the pain of her passing is something we will carry forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we are devastated by her loss, we are incredibly proud of the person she was and the way she represented Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a family, we are deeply grateful for the support shown by so many people connected to Paige, including her teammates and friends. Paige cherished the connections she made through her sport, and we take comfort in knowing how widely she was loved.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Paralympics Australia website, Greco lived with right hemiplegic cerebral palsy and competed in the C-3 category \u2013 for athletes with moderate limb impairments including amputations who can use a standard bicycle.<\/p>\n
Across her career, she claimed multiple World Championship titles and World Cup medals, including a 2025 World Championship bronze in the Road Race.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat feeling when I crossed the line\u2026 I love to win. I love when I race to always strive to get on that podium,\u201d Greco said before the Paris Paralympics.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was younger the doctors did say to my parents that I might not be able to run and I\u2019d have trouble doing exercise. I think I\u2019ve always had that drive driving me that [says] \u2018Yeah, OK, I do have cerebral palsy, but I\u2019m still going to compete because that\u2019s what I love to do\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Paralympics is the top goal. Just being there in Paris, that\u2019s what really drives me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greco suffered a heavy crash at the 2023 Para-cycling World Cup, crashing at 45km\/h, sustaining a broken nose and concussion among her injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Time Trial, towards the end of the race, I went into a wall,\u201d she recalled, adding the crash made her consider giving up cycling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of successes in my cycling career<\/a>, but this was mentally and physically a really big barrier to get through. I learnt a lot about myself.<\/p>\n \u201cI was wondering what would happen when I got back on the bike,\u201d she said. \u201cWould I have flashbacks? Am I going to freak out?<\/p>\n \u201cFor a while I didn\u2019t know if I wanted to continue cycling. I was thinking about whether I should walk away from the sport and do something else. We didn\u2019t know if Worlds was on the cards. We talked about how my health has to be the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPaige was on a stretcher, she had a neck brace on, there was a lot of blood around,\u201d her coach David Betts said.<\/p>\n \u201cHer front tooth was knocked out and there was a lot of facial trauma. It was all quite confronting.<\/p>\n \u201cPaige was scared and I was just trying to be positive and tell her she was in good hands and we\u2019d get her to the hospital. I couldn\u2019t say \u2018You\u2019ll be alright\u2019 because I didn\u2019t really know, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n Marne Fechner, Chief Executive Officer of AusCycling, said: \u201cWe are heartbroken by the tragic news of Paige\u2019s death. Paige was an extraordinary athlete who achieved outstanding accomplishments at the highest levels of our sport. Much more than that, she touched the lives of everyone around her with her positive spirit and courageous outlook.<\/p>\n \u201cOur thoughts and condolences are with Paige\u2019s family, friends, teammates, coaches and support staff, past and present, during this incredibly sad and difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n Cameron Murray, Chief Executive Officer of Paralympics Australia, said the loss of one of the brightest young stars of the Australian Paralympic Movement was devastating.<\/p>\n \u201cWe extend our deepest condolences to Paige\u2019s loved ones and to those who were closest to her. The sadness being felt across Paralympics Australia today is a reflection of the enormous regard in which she was held,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n \u201cPaige was an extraordinary athlete<\/a>, but more importantly, a remarkable person. As a Paralympian, Paige represented Australia with a level of commitment and composure that earned the admiration of everyone who had the privilege to watch her compete or to work alongside her.<\/p>\n \u201cHer achievements on the international stage were exceptional, but it was her kindness, her quiet determination and the way she uplifted people around her that will stay with us all. <\/p>\n \u201cShe had a rare ability to make people feel included and supported, and her influence will no doubt leave a lasting impression on so many.\u201d<\/p>\n AusCycling and Paralympics Australia said they would \u201cwork closely with the Greco family and others affected by Paige\u2019s passing to provide support and to honour her legacy appropriately\u201d.<\/p>\n Sign up to Herald Premium Editor\u2019s Picks<\/a>, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week\u2019s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cHer kindness, her determination and her warmth touched our family every single day. \u201cShe brought so much joy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138969,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[41051,1975,1135,6179,7126,4241,94587,94586,111,139,69,19194,94585,213,23333],"class_list":["post-138968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-41051","tag-at","tag-australian","tag-died","tag-dies","tag-gold","tag-greco","tag-medallist","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-paige","tag-paralympic","tag-sports","tag-suddenly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}