At 29, Curtis McGrath can say, “mission accomplished”. After losing both his legs in Afghanistan in 2012 during the course of military operations, the tall Australian got into para-canoeing and won gold in the Paralympics at Rio 2016.
For the brave, adversity is a mere deflection to a new opportunity. “I tried a lot of games, and liked canoeing. They changed the event for the Paralympics in which canoeing was introduced for the first time in Rio.
“I was angry and frustrated. But I trained hard and won the gold,” said McGrath in an interaction with The Hindu at the Australian High Commission here on Tuesday.
McGrath has decided to defend the title at Tokyo 2020. “The challenge is bigger than winning it the first time. But, it gives me the motivation. Maybe, I can improve my time,” he said.
He has competed in the Invictus Games thrice and wants to give a chance to someone else when it is held the next time in Sydney in 2018.
He competed in Toronto this time, and will be the ambassador for the event in Sydney. He will decide about the future course of action and his career after the Tokyo Paralympics.
McGrath opted to join the army when he felt that he had enough of school and did not want to go to the University even though a lot of his friends did.
‘’I wanted adventure. I wanted an active life style. The military offered that.
“I had amazing friends,” he recalled, quickly stressing that he was aware of the risks and that it could have been worse than what he eventually faced.
McGrath, who will address the students of Sehwag International School on Wednesday, said that it was important to create awareness among the disabled about what they can do.
“Sport is good for life even though not everyone may be able to go to Paralympics. Not just for the disabled, sport is good for everyone.”
