Australian Paralympic team launched ahead of Paris games

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Australia's Paralympics team has been officially launched ahead of the Paris games. Three-time para canoe gold medallist Curtis McGrath is the co-captain of the Australian team. He tells us more about the launch in Canberra today.

Transcript

00:00The launch was really great, you know, nice to have the support of the leaders of our

00:05nation and having a great turnout, both in the room and then within our community as

00:09well.

00:10It was a really special moment.

00:11Yeah, and a good vibe in the team.

00:13Yeah, definitely.

00:15Everyone's really excited, really keen on the opportunity to represent Australia and

00:19wear the green and gold.

00:20But also, you know, it's starting to become a lot more real as we have these events and

00:24more of our teams announced.

00:25We've still got 50% of our team to be announced and selected.

00:29So it's a pretty amazing, you know, sort of momentum and it's nice to have it in the

00:34nation's capital.

00:35Yeah.

00:36Evidence of it becoming real is the fact that you're straight back to the Gold Coast.

00:40Was that so you could fit in some training this afternoon?

00:42Yeah.

00:43Our coach has got us working pretty hard.

00:46I had three sessions this afternoon.

00:48Three?

00:49We've introduced a few heat acclimatisation because we know that Paris can be quite warm

00:56at certain times of the year.

00:57So we're just getting ready for that sort of situation, that scenario.

01:02So having the opportunity to train, you know, in all different scenarios and in all different

01:06conditions is really great.

01:08But yeah, the coach has got us working pretty hard.

01:10Yeah.

01:11So just to give us an idea of that training, you mentioned three sessions this afternoon.

01:16What were those three sessions?

01:18How long were they for and what were you actually doing?

01:21Yeah.

01:22So I had an on-water session.

01:23So in the boat, the V1, the outrigger canoe, we were doing a sprint session.

01:27That probably took us about an hour.

01:29It's quite cold up here and wet today.

01:31So it was out in the rain.

01:32Oh, the Gold Coast.

01:33It was, yeah, surprising.

01:35But it is winter.

01:38And then from there, straight into the gym, just trying to package it all together, be

01:43as efficient as possible.

01:45Just for today.

01:46Usually we have a lot more rest.

01:47But in the gym, we're in there for an hour and a bit.

01:49And then straight into, I did a passive heat session because of the big day that I had,

01:55which meant sitting in a hot spa bath for 30 minutes just to get acclimatization for

02:00the body.

02:01Are you usually based on the Gold Coast or you've gone there specifically for how hot

02:06it is, like Paris?

02:08No, I live here.

02:11The performance program is based here.

02:14We live and base ourselves up here because we can train all year round.

02:19Not due to the conditions that the winter presents.

02:22It is nicer up here, I must admit, but it is not the same as central Europe at the moment.

02:29And how did you go with a gym session straight after an on-water session?

02:35Wouldn't you think it would be good to vary the days that you do that so you're fresh

02:40in the gym?

02:41Yeah, that's right.

02:43Usually we do that.

02:44Obviously, the event this morning meant that I couldn't do my on-water session the usual

02:49time at 7.30.

02:50So it was just a matter of making the day efficient.

02:53But usually there's a bit of time before the gym so we can really execute and perform in

02:57every training session.

02:59And for people unfamiliar with your events, just take us through what you're competing

03:05in.

03:06Yeah, so I compete in the event of power canoe.

03:09It's a 200-meter sprint kayak or canoe event.

03:12I do a K1.

03:14I'm in the middle disability class for the kayak in the KL2.

03:19And then I'm in the top or the higher class in the canoe, just based on the biomechanics.

03:24That's the kayak there.

03:25And I do the V1, the outrigger canoe, and I'm in the VL3.

03:29And the difference between it is, there you can see there, it's got a single blade on

03:33the paddle.

03:34And the outrigger's obviously got an outrigger, so the balance is a little bit easier there.

03:38But it's much harder to steer that boat because it's done with the paddle.

03:41So it's a highly explosive, a little bit of endurance right at the end.

03:46And it is all over in about 40-odd seconds.

03:49So it's a quick and exciting race.

03:51Forty seconds.

03:52And so you've got two events.

03:54Have you got a favorite?

03:57I do.

03:58I've changed.

03:59I used to like the V1, and I really loved it, and I still do.

04:04But the kayak, the V1, as I've gotten older, has become more of a burden.

04:10My body doesn't recover as fast, unfortunately.

04:13So I get all my problems, all my little niggles and body sort of soreness from the V1.

04:19And then, obviously, the kayak's a lot easier.

04:21Well, depends on the training session, but I find it a lot easier on the body, and I

04:26really enjoy being out on the water in that boat.

04:29And how intense is this build-up physically for you over the coming weeks?

04:34Do you taper a couple of weeks before the actual games?

04:37Yeah, so we operate here in our program, and specifically in our program, on a three-week

04:44sort of block.

04:45So we're doing three weeks.

04:46This is the first week of that very intense, lots of training, lots of different training

04:51as well with the heat and things like that.

04:53And then in three weeks' time, we'll be then tapering it down, being not really tapering.

04:58It's just a different type of training.

05:00We're going from sort of this power and endurance phase into a really speed-orientated phase,

05:05getting ready for racing, because you can't go really fast without having a good endurance

05:10base.

05:11That's the philosophy that we sort of run by.

05:14So having that focus first and then building from that to go fast and execute a great race.

05:21And that's where it happens when we head overseas in the middle of August.

05:25Damn, it'd be so much easier for you if you didn't have to do all that endurance, huh?

05:30And what has having this sport meant for you?

05:34Yeah, sport, in general, I think sport has given me a lot.

05:38I was injured in Afghanistan in 2012 and wasn't really sure what to do with myself or how

05:43to live as a person with disability, and sport was very familiar for me.

05:48So I sort of jumped into everything, tried swimming and archery, wheelchair basketball,

05:52and ultimately fell into a kayak and really enjoyed it.

05:56I did a little bit of whitewater kayaking when I grew up in school in New Zealand.

06:01And then from there, I've enjoyed every moment in it and I've had some great success and

06:06that's made it even more enjoyable.

06:08So having the opportunity to do this at the highest level, it's really given me a purpose,

06:13given me an opportunity, given me a great community.

06:16And you don't have to go to be a Paralympian if you've got a disability and want to get

06:20into sport.

06:22Sport produces amazing benefits, both for the community, for social opportunities, but

06:28also giving yourself a healthy and active lifestyle, which we all sort of try and live

06:33by, but sometimes it's a wee bit harder because there's a few more barriers and challenges

06:37in place for people living with a disability.

06:40And how challenging was that for you after getting injured in Afghanistan to work out

06:46where you wanted to go and what you wanted to do?

06:51It was not too bad.

06:52I had a really amazing team.

06:54I had some great support and love around me with my family and friends.

06:58And in the military, they helped me out by providing opportunities to travel and to see

07:03and do things that I would not otherwise get.

07:06And the Invictus Games is something that began in 2014.

07:10So just as I began my sort of elite pathway into sport.

07:15But at the same time, it's not just one event.

07:18It's the people around you that get you there or the one sort of opportunity.

07:22It's there's so many people that support you, nurture you and help you through all

07:27the hard days to get to the good days and race and represent Australia.

07:31And sport for me was the opportunity that really highlighted how important it was to

07:36have a purpose, having meaningful engagement, something to do, something to wake up for.

07:40And, you know, the challenges that were ahead of me were sort of the challenges that were

07:46my own. It was about me finding my identity, me finding the support network in order to

07:51achieve my dreams and representing Australia at the Paralympic Games.

07:55And I can still detect a little bit of a Kiwi accent.

07:58How is it that we can claim you as an Australian?

08:03Yeah, I still got a bit of a twang.

08:04I lived over in Western Australia in a little town called Wildcatchem for four years when

08:10I was 10 and managed to secure a citizenship.

08:14And as I weighed up my options at the end of school in Queenstown, I decided that I

08:19would come over and join the Australian Army.

08:21And that's sort of what led me into wearing the green and gold.

08:25Good stuff. And what's it like being at a Games?

08:27Because this will be your third, huh?

08:30That's correct. Yeah, each game is going to be very different for me.

08:34You know, Rio, I was a debutant.

08:37Our sport was new to the Games as well.

08:39It was newly added that year.

08:41Tokyo, as we know, COVID affected and, you know, very, very different, very sort of

08:46isolating. But in the Australian camp, it was very communal.

08:51So it was really great to make new friends within our team, because often, you know, the

08:56Paralympic team, everyone thinks we all come together, but we all know each other.

09:00But we only come together for the Games most of the time.

09:03So we don't actually get the opportunity to hang out and meet new people on the Australian

09:06team, because there's 150-odd athletes, which are all based around Australia, doing

09:11different things and going different places with different sports.

09:14And, you know, that's what I'm really excited about for Paris, is blending those two

09:19together, being able to, you know, socialise with other countries, other people and, you

09:24know, meet new people, but also perform at our best and not to have the restrictions of

09:30having to wear a mask whenever we, you know, leave our room or, you know,

09:36constantly washing your hands and doing testing.

09:38And it was, you know, it's really difficult in Tokyo.

09:40So now for Paris on the horizon, right around the corner, it's just it's going to be so

09:45exciting to really unleash our team spirit and really get around our athletes.

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