| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | 13 March 2000 |
| Sport | |
| Country | Australia |
| Sport | Table Tennis |
| Club | Woodville District Table Tennis Club |
Hayley Sands (born 13 March 2000) is an Australian Paralympic table tennis player. She competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. [1]
Sands was born on 13 March 2000. [2] On January 2, 2013, at the age of thirteen, a diving accident the family swimming pool in Kings Park, South Australia resulted in a C4/C5 incomplete spinal cord injury. [3] Sands spent eight months recovering at the Women's and Children's Hospital in South Australia. She attended Cabra Dominican College. [4] Sands has completed an interior architecture degree at the University of South Australia. [5] [6] In 2024, she is an Interior Designer at Woods Bagot. [7]
Sands was introduced to table tennis at a Paralympics Australia Come and Try Day. [2] She is classified as class 2 player. [8] She first represented Australia in Thailand in 2019. She competed at the 2023 Oceania Para Championships in the women's singles class 2–5. [9]
She competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in the Women's Singles 1-2, Women's Doubles 18 and Mixed Doubles 7 but did not progress after losing opening matches.
In 2024, she is a South Australian Sports Institute athlete. [7]