BEING a world champion in two difference sports, it's an achievement which undoubtedly gives Emilie Miller status as a superstar but she's more than just that - she's a trailblazer as well. An inspirational trailblazer. Growing up Miller was a top-10 nationally ranked swimmer, but a freak accident during training in 2008 left her with severe spinal injuries. However, the competitive drive Miller possessed and her love for sport meant the accident was not the end of her sporting career. She instead took on new challenges. Miller took up handcycling and became a multiple Australian and World Champion. She often found herself as the sole female competitor at meetings - while others in her same H1 category were intimidated by the tough road courses, the NSW Central West talent embraced the burn. In 2018 at Maniago, Italy, and again in 2019 in Emmen, Netherlands, Miller won both the women's H1 time trial and road race world titles. Wearing rainbow stripes was a proud moment for her. Then in 2021 Miller was asked if she'd like to give wheelchair rugby a try. Not surprisingly, she was keen to give a new sport a go. Not surprisingly, she's found success in that sport. In March this year she toured Texas with the Australian Steelers, the Bathurst talent becoming just the second female player to represent the nation in wheelchair rugby union. Miller then played at the Canada Cup and most recently, was part of the 12-player Australian Steelers team which won the 2022 Wheelchair Rugby World Championship. She was one of three female players in that side, joining Shae Graham and Ella Sabljak. While wheelchair rugby is a mixed sport, that trio created a piece of history for Australia. "Australia are leading the way in terms of female representation with our sport, we had three female players in our team which was the highest of any country," Miller said. "Across the board it was also the highest representation of females in the sport at a world championship level, which was enormous. "It is something that I take a lot of pride in, the fact that we're part of this era where we're changing the game domestically but also internationally in terms of the higher representation of female athletes." Miller, who is also a two-time national wheelchair rugby champion as a NSW Gladiator, was delighted to see that Australia was not the only country with female players in their World Championship teams. "It was really cool, we actually got a photo of all the female players on the final night. It's an interesting vibe the way every country is embracing it and taking females in their team - it's a great feeling to be a part of that," she said. "A lot of people don't realise that it's a mixed gender sport, so to now have all these females playing is amazing. We had a game against Germany and there were four females on court at the same time, so half the players on the court were female - that was a world first which was really exciting." Australian coach Brad Dubberley thinks that Miller, Graham and Sabljak are also likely to play a key role in future Steelers campaigns and an evolution of the sport as a whole in having more females represent. "I think moving forward that to win the Paralympic gold medal in LA [2028], the best teams will need four females. That's our objective to get to that point, because I see that's how it's going to be won," he said. Each member of a team is given a classification between 0.5 and 3.5 points depending on their level of impairment. On the court at any one time a side can not have players which exceed a combined total of eight points. Female players are also given a 0.5 bonus, so if there are players such as the Australian trio good enough to earn national selection they are a big benefit to the side. IN OTHER NEWS: Miller is a 0.5 classification player, but when it comes to her competitive nature, well she's 100 percent commitment. "I love seeing male point fives roll onto the court and just thinking 'Watch out' and seeing their face when you get a good little pick on them. You can see them burning inside because they've been picked by a female - I love seeing that," she laughed. Miller no doubt will continue to inspire other female Para-athletes to follow in her footsteps and on a personal level, she's loving the chance to share her success with male and female team-mates alike. "It was phenomenal to be able to share it [World Championships win] with everyone and see the joy on everyone's face, it certainly was an intense celebration and nothing like I was used to," she said. "They're a pretty rowdy bunch the rugby boys, they like to party."