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.
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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.