Curtis McGrath

Started: He first tried canoeing at age 14 at a school camp in New Zealand. He started by paddling the va'a. (paddle.org.au, 04 Sep 2021; Athlete, 03 Sep 2021) Reason: Within minutes of being stretchered away from the IED that led to the amputation of both his legs, he told his fellow soldiers that he would compete in the Paralympic Games. He tried archery and wheelchair basketball before taking part in a 1000km paddle from New South Wales to Queensland in Australia organised by Mates4Mates, a veterans' support group. He realised the non-Para participants were in the same boats, using the same paddles and going at the same pace as him. After the event he began to research Para canoe and telephoned Andrea King, the Australia Para canoe national coach, who invited him to the team's base in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. "I decided I should live up to my words and get involved in sports so I could work my way up to the Paralympics. Choosing canoeing, I was instantly hooked on the sensation of gliding across the water. Training with my coach six days a week, I loved the sense of purpose it gave me. The promise I'd made while I was waiting to die had changed my life." (thatslife.com.au, 19 Apr 2020; dailytelegraph.com.au, 27 Sep 2019; menshealth.com.au, 01 Sep 2016) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. "The best thing I'm looking forward to is having our friends and family on the sideline. That was something noticeably different, and disappointing, about Tokyo 2020 [due to the COVID-19 restrictions], given the success that our team had, and the entire Paralympic Games was such an amazing event." (ais.gov.au, 28 Aug 2023) Milestones: He became the first canoeist from any nation to win three career Paralympic gold medals after he triumphed in both the men's KL2 200m and men's VL3 200m events at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) He became the first canoeist representing Australia to win a gold medal at the Paralympic Games by securing victory in the men's KL2 200m at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: He and slalom paddler Jessica Fox were jointly named Paddler of the Year at the 2023 Paddle Australia Awards in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. (nswis.com.au, 30 Oct 2023; ABC Sport Instagram profile, 29 Oct 2023) He was flag bearer for Australia at the opening ceremony of the 2023 World Championships in Duisburg, Germany. (Facebook page, 23 Aug 2023) In 2022 he was named Gold Coast Parasport Star of the Year by Sports Gold Coast in Australia. (sportsgoldcoast.com.au, 08 Jul 2022) He was named 2020 Male Athlete of the Year by Paralympics Australia. (Facebook page, 16 Jun 2022; paddle.org.au, 10 Jun 2022) He was named Para Sport Star of the Year at the 2019 Gold Coast Sport Star Awards. (mygc.com.au, 04 Mar 2020) In 2019 he was named Male Para Athlete of the Year at the Australian Institute of Sport [AIS] Awards. (bulldogs.com.au, 11 Dec 2019) In 2017 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia [OAM]. (saxton.com.au, 24 Aug 2019) He was named Sportsman of the Year at the 2016 World Paddle Awards. (worldpaddleawards.com, 28 Feb 2017) He was flag bearer for Australia at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (titans.com.au, 02 May 2018) Additional Info: POST-TOKYO BREAK He decided to take a year-long break from high-performance sport following the 2020 Paralympic Games. He spent time carrying out public speaking engagements in schools and at other events in Australia before returning to competition in early 2023. "After Tokyo I decided to take a 12-month break from the high-performance level of sport. It's nice to be in demand [for public speaking]. The Tokyo cycle is extremely long and hard." (Planet Canoe Facebook page, 12 May 2023; Facebook page, 01 Jan 2023, 02 Feb 2022; The Secret Burden Facebook page, 27 Nov 2022; paralympic.org.au, 27 Apr 2022) FROM NEW ZEALAND TO AUSTRALIA He was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, but at age 10 he moved with his family to Western Australia. At age 14 they returned to New Zealand to live in Queenstown, but after he finished school they went back to Australia to settle in Brisbane, Queensland. (menshealth.com.au, 01 Sep 2016) MEDAL DONATION After winning a gold medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he donated his medal to the Australian war memorial. As a former soldier he hoped that allowing more people to see the medal would inspire them. "The medal was just collecting dust and I wasn't giving it justice. A lot of people ask me about it and I say you can see it at the memorial. It was a way for everyone to see it and hear about my story and I'm grateful that everyone can see it." (paralympic.org, 16 Feb 2020) BOOK In 2021 he released his memoir, which is titled 'Blood, Sweat and Steel'. (Facebook page, 22 Feb 2023; dailytelegraph.com.au, 23 Aug 2021)