Arkley was born on 27 October 1994.[1] He is a paraplegic as a result of the viral infection, transverse myelitis,[1] he caught when he was eight years old.[2] As of 2012[update], he lives in St Agnes, South Australia. He attended St Pauls College in Gilles Plains.[1]
Athletics
Arkley at the 2012 London ParalympicsArkley during the marathon at the 2012 London Paralympics
Arkley is a T54 classified athlete.[1] He has a special three carbon wheeled racing wheelchair.[2] He has been coached by John Hammon since 2009.[1]
Arkley started competing in wheelchair athletics in 2005.[1] Prior to his paraplegia, he participated in track at school.[2] He first represented Australian in 2009.[1] At the Swiss hosted 2009 IWAS Junior World Championships, he won five silver medals and two gold medals.[1] In 2012, he won the Oz Day 10K men's junior division.[3][4] He sometimes trains with Jake Lappin.[5] In 2012, he would train by wheeling up to 200 kilometres (120 mi) a week.[2] He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in athletics.[1] Arkley participated in the Men's 5000 m T54, Men's Marathon T54, and the Men's 4 × 400 m T53/54 – winning a bronze in the 4 × 400 m.[6]