Proud dad Joel Coughlan celebrates Father's Day in Tokyo

📸 | Paralympics Australia.

Father’s Day will hopefully be the opportunity for most to come together. But for Paralympic silver medalist Joel Coughlan, he’ll be spending his final days in Tokyo with his fellow para-table tennis teammates. 

Coughlan is the father of August who is 18 months old, with his wife Joanne. And even though ‘Augie’ isn’t old enough to understand his father’s amazing achievement at the Paralympic Games, Joel is hoping it will inspire him in the future. 

“My son is 18 months old and was actually in bed when I won the silver medal. I’m sure in the future he’ll be very proud of what I've achieved and super excited to let his friends know when he grows up,” he said. 

Juggling his Paralympic aspirations with a full time job and small family is no easy task, but Coughlan said thanks to the support of his wife and those around him, he’s been able to have the best of both worlds. 

“I’m very lucky that my wife and my main training partner are very flexible. Often I'd come home from work and am able to feed my young fella dinner, bathe him and put him to bed and then I'd go train late at night, or my training partner would come in earlier so we could do it in reverse. That way I could spend time with my son throughout the day,” he said.

Coughlan is one of the Co-Captain of what is now known as Australia’s most successful Paralympic table tennis team in history.

With a record two gold and four silver medals across the singles and doubles events, Australia finished second overall on the table tennis ladder. 

Coughlan is incredibly proud of his team and what they have been able to achieve.  But he’s ready to get home to his family and enjoy this moment with his son.

“He’s the most important thing in my world…I'm excited to go home and see them.

“To all the father’s out there doing a good job, keep it up and wish you all a happy father’s day.