Australian Paralympic team launched ahead of Paris games

The launch was really great, you know, nice to have the support of the leaders of our nation and having a great turn out both in the room and and then within our community as well. It was a really special moment. Yeah, I had a good vibe in the team. Yeah, definitely. Everyone's really excited, really keen on the opportunity to represent Australia and we're the green goal. But also, you know, it's starting to become a lot more real as we have these events and more of our teams announced. We've still got 50% of our team to be announced and selected. So it's a pretty amazing, you know, sort of momentum and it's, it's nice to have it in the the nation's capital. Yeah. Evidence of it becoming real is the fact that you're straight back to the Gold Coast. Was that so you could fit in some training this afternoon? Yeah, our coach has got us working pretty hard. I had three sessions this afternoon. We've reintroduced a few heat, heat acclimatisation because we know that Paris can be quite warm at certain times of the year. So we're just getting ready for that, that sort of situation, that scenario. So having the opportunity to train, you know, in all different scenarios and in all different conditions is really great. But yeah, the coach has got us working pretty hard. Yeah. So just to give us an idea of that training, you mentioned three sessions this afternoon. What what were those three sessions? How long were they for and what were you actually doing? Yeah. So I had a an on water session. So in the in the boat, the V1, the Outrigger canoe, we were doing a Sprint session that probably took us about an hour. It's it's quite, quite cold up here and wet today. So it was out in the rain in the Gold Coast, the wind, it was yeah, surprising, but it is it is winter. And then from there straight into the gym, just trying to pack it, package it all together as be as efficient as possible. Just for today. Usually we have a lot more rest, but in the gym, we're in there for an hour and a bit. And then straight into AI did a passive heat session because of the, the big day that I had, which meant sitting in a hot spa bar for 30 minutes just to get acclimatisation for the body. Are you, are you usually based on the Gold Coast or you've, you've gone there specifically for the, the, the, how hot it is like like Paris. No, we, I, I live here. We right, the performance program is based here. It's it we live in and base ourselves up here because we can train all year round, not due to the conditions that the winter presents. That is nicer up here, I must admit. But it is not the same as, you know, northern or Central Europe at the moment. And how did you go with a gym session straight after an on water session? Wouldn't you think it'd it'd be good to kind of vary the days that you do that so you kind of you're fresh in the gym. Yeah, that's right. Usually we do that. Obviously the the event this morning meant that I couldn't do my own water session the usual time at 7:30, right. So it was just a matter of making the day efficient. But usually, yeah, there's a bit of time before the gym so we can really execute and perform in every training session. Yeah. And for people unfamiliar with your events, just take us through what what you're competing in. Yeah. So I compete in the event of para canoe. It's a 200 metre Sprint kayak or canoe event. I do AK1, I'm in the middle disability class for the kayak in the KL2 and then I'm in the top or the higher class in the the canoe just based on it, the bio mechanics, that's the kayak there. And I do the the V1, the Outrigger canoe and I'm in the VL three and the difference between it is there. You can see there it's got a single blade on the paddle and the outrigger's obviously got an Outrigger. So the the balance is a little bit easier there, but it's much harder to to steer that boat because it's done with the paddle. So it's a highly explosive, a little bit of endurance right at the end and it is all over in about 40 odd seconds. So it's a quick and exciting race, 40 seconds. And so you've got 22 events. What have you got a a favorite? I do, I, I've changed. I, I used to like the V1 and I really loved it and I still do. But the, the kayak, the, the V1 as I've gotten older has become more of a, a burden. I, my body doesn't recover as fast, unfortunately. So I get all my problems, all my little niggles and, and body sort of soreness from the V1 And then, you know, obviously the kayak's a lot easier. Well, depends on the training session, but if I find it a lot easier on the body and I I really enjoy being out on the water in that boat. Yeah. And how intense is this build up physically for you over the coming weeks? Do you taper a couple of weeks before the actual games? Yeah. So we operate here in our program and, and specifically in our program and on a three-week sort of block. So we're doing 3 weeks. This is the first week of that very intense, lots of training, lots of different training as well with the heat and things like that. And then in three weeks time we'll be then tapering it down, being not really tapering. It's just a different type of training. We're going from sort of this power and endurance phase into a, a really speed orientated phase, getting ready for racing because you can't go really fast without having a good endurance base. That's the philosophy that we, we sort of run by. So having that, that focus 1st and then building beyond from that to go fast and, and execute a great race. And, and that's where it happens when we head overseas on the, the in the middle of August. Damn, it'd be so much easier for you if you didn't have to do all that endurance, huh? And what has having this sport meant for you? Yeah, sport in general. I think sport has given me a lot. I was injured in Afghanistan in 2012 and wasn't really sure what to do with myself or how to, you know, live as a person with disability. And sport was very familiar for me. So I sort of jumped into everything, tried swimming and archery, wheelchair basketball, and ultimately fell into a kayak and really enjoyed it. And I did a little bit of whitewater kayaking when I grew up in school in New Zealand. And then from there, I've enjoyed every moment in it. And I've had some great success. And that's made it even more enjoyable. So having the opportunity to to do this at the highest level, it's, it's really given me a purpose, given me, you know, opportunity, given me a great community. And you don't have to, you know, go to be a Paralympian if you've got a disability and want to get into sport. Sport, you know, produces amazing benefits both, you know, for the community for like social opportunities, but also giving yourself a healthy and active lifestyle, which we all sort of trying to, you know, live by. But, you know, sometimes it's a wee bit harder because of the few more barriers and and challenges in place for people living with a disability. And how challenging was that for you after getting injured in Afghanistan to work out where where you wanted to go and what you wanted to do? It was not too bad. I had a really amazing team. I had some great support and love around me with my family and friends. And then the military. They, they helped me out by providing opportunities to travel and, and to see and do things that I would not otherwise get. And you know, the Invictus Games are something that began in 2014. So just as I began my sort of elite pathway into sport, but at the same time, you know, it's not just one event, it's the people around you that get you there or that the one sort of opportunity it's there's so many people that support you, you nurture you and, and help you through all the the hard days to get to the good days and, and race and, and represent Australia. And sport for me was the opportunity that really highlighted how important it was to have a purpose, having meaningful engagement, something to do, something to wake up for. And, you know, the, the challenges that were ahead of me were sort of the the challenges that were my own. You know, it was about me finding my identity, me finding the the support network in order to achieve my dreams and representing Australia at the Paralympic Games. And I can still detect a little bit of a Kiwi accent. How is it that we can claim you as an Australian? Yeah, I still got a bit of a twang. I lived over in WA in a little town called Wildcatcham for four years when I was 10 and managed to secure a citizenship. And as I weighed out my options at the end of school in Queenstown, I decided that I would come over and join the Australian Army. And that's sort of what led me into wearing the green and gold. Good stuff. And what's it like being at a Games? Because this will be your third, huh? That's correct, yeah. Each game is gonna be very different for me. You know, Rio was a I was a debutante. Our sport was new to the Games as well. It was newly added that year. Tokyo, as we know Covad affected and you know, very, very different, very sort of isolating. But in the Australian camp it was very communal. So it was really great to make new friends within our team because often, you know, the Paralympic team, everyone thinks we're all come together, but we all know each other. But we only come together for the Games. Yeah, most of the time. So we don't actually get the opportunity to hang out and meet new people on the Australian team because there's 150 odd athletes, which, you know, are all based around Australia doing different things and going different places with different sports. And, you know, that's what I'm really excited about for Paris is blending those two together. Being able to, you know, socialise with other countries, other people and, you know, meet new people, but also perform at our best. And and not to have the restrictions of having to wear a mask whenever we, you know, leave our room or, you know, it's constantly washing your hands and doing testing. And it was, you know, it's really difficult in Tokyo. So now for Paris on the horizon, right around the corner, it's just a it's going to be so exciting to, it's really unleash our team spirit and really get around our athletes.