Paralympic sprinter Sam Carter, 32, was flying down the back straight of the Blacktown Athletics Track competing in the 2016 Australian Championships T54 relay – the next thing he remembers was being picked up off the track.

“There was an athlete in my lane I wasn’t anticipating, and I didn’t have my head up, as I tend not to do when I’m racing,” Carter said.”

“I was going about 35 kilometres an hour when I ran straight into the back of them.”

“I came out of my chair and was thrown through the air a couple of metres before hitting the track pretty hard.”

The Queenslander was helped off the track and taken to hospital in an ambulance, where he was diagnosed with a concussion.

Being his first and only concussion, Carter said he was surprised by some of the symptoms he endured following the accident.

“Initially, I recall being disorientated and my recollection of the event was pretty fuzzy.”

“Soon after, I developed nausea and vomiting and was definitely more emotional and just out of soughts for the first couple of days after the incident.”