TURNING DISABILITY INTO DESTINY: MY JOURNEY TO PARALYMPIC GOLD

Like every other kid I rode my bike when I was growing up. It was a way to escape the house and venture out to places around the neighbourhood. But it didn’t really lead to anything just a lot of fun.

In my early 20’s I caught the triathlon bug. I had been a competitive swimmer growing up so it was just something I tried. I hated my first one as I hadn’t done much training for a full Olympic distance triathlon, I figured…how hard could it be! Boy it was hard. So I started doing a bit more training, but my triathlon career didn’t last long as I hated running!

When I immigrated to Australia I brought my bike with me thinking it would be a good way to get around. It was for the first couple of years and then in 1998 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and I lost my ability to balance. So riding was definitely out of the question, I had problems walking let along riding!

The key to unlocking your potential is already in your hand. You just have to turn it. – Carol Cooke

I started in Para Rowing in 2006 and I found a bike builder here in Melbourne who was able to build me my first trike. I used it to ride to rowing training and home. I called it the Red Rocket…it was a 22kg steel frame trike. It didn’t go uphill very well but when I went downhill it was like a rocket, hence the name!

In 2011, I got talked into going up to Queensland for the National Para Cycling Championships. My trike was so heavy I couldn’t fly it up so I found a way to get it there, on a garment truck from my friend’s business. The driver dropped it off to my accommodation and then picked it up so I could get it home.

Growth begins with Challenges: “You can’t perform better unless you’re challenged—and challenges are what make us grow.” – Carol Cooke

The Red Rocket didn’t meet any of the UCI rules for trike racing, but they let me do the Time Trial and I had to make modifications on it before I could do the Road Race. I had no idea how to race the trike so I just put my head down and went as fast as I could on that Time Trial. When I finished the head coach asked me where I had come from. I said, Melbourne and he said “No in the cycling world”. I told him that I was a rower not a cyclist and he said that No I was a cyclist as I had just smashed the qualifying speed for my category WT2 to make the national team. When I asked what the speed was, he shook his head and asked to speak to my coach. I told him I only had a rowing coach and not a cycling coach. At that point he said that he had to find me one.

I made my first national team that day for a World Cup that was taking place 2 months later and just happened to be in Sydney. So I drove up, raced both races on my trusty Red Rocket and won both events. The day I was driving back to Melbourne the coach stood beside me as I was getting my morning coffee and asked me “So are you are rower or a cyclist now?” I looked at him and smiled and said “I guess I’m a cyclist!”

Finding Strength in Setbacks: “Life is simply too short to dwell in the negatives. Seek out the lessons, embrace the friendships, and hold tight to the moments that remind you of your strength. That’s where the magic lies.” – Carol Cooke

That was the start of the next 14 years of an unbelievable career that saw me win 9 World Championships, go to 3 Paralympic Games: London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021. I won gold in London in the Time Trial racing against the men and was 7th in the road race (1 st woman), 2 gold in Rio – TT and RR only against women, and Silver in the TT in Tokyo at the age of 60 (the winner was 31yrs)! Unfortunately I had a crash in the road race and was unable to finish ending up in a Japanese hospital for 6 days with a punctured lung.

I have just retired from competitive racing this year, Jan 11th was my last race at our Nationals where it all started. Luckily I’m not still racing the Red Rocket, I have a much lighter (12kg) trike made of all carbon and titanium.

If I hadn’t gone to that first race I would never have had the life I have lived. I’ve been lucky to travel the world, meet people from all walks of life and I have loved every minute. I would also never change the fact that I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis because it has given me opportunities I never would have had!

I am doing more riding now than I did when I was actually training and I am going out and loving each ride. I have no doubt that I will continue to ride until the day I draw my last breath!