Australia's most successful Paralympian has secured a victory of a different kind this weekend in winning a seat in the South Australian parliament.
Matt Cowdrey, a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia, has polled 47.3 per cent of primary votes in the seat of Colton with 67 per cent of votes counted.
In the two-party preferred count, Mr Cowdrey leads Labor candidate Angela Vaughan 56.9 to 43.1 per cent.
Mr Cowdrey holds the record for the most gold medals (13) and total medals (23) won by an Australian at the Paralympics.
The 29-year-old spent Saturday morning handing out how-to-vote cards with Liberal Leader Steven Marshall at a local primary school.
"I think most South Australians are very keen to see some change and that's certainly the vibe that we picked up this morning as we've gone across the booths," he told AAP.
"It's been great to share so much time with so many people in the community, to go around and talk to people and understand the issues that are important to them."
Colton is one of four in South Australia to become notionally Liberal under redistributed electoral boundaries.
Mr Cowdrey said his year on the campaign trail had been a rewarding one.
"I've enjoyed it and I've enjoyed speaking to as many people as I have," he said.
"You're always going to know a percentage of the community and a percentage of community groups but to really get stuck into that and to meet as many people as possible, it's been great fun."
