August 15, 2024 • 15 mins
She's a woman with courage by the truckload. Born and bred in Dalmeny, Nikki is in Paris primed for Paralympic gold in the rowing, 8 years after a horrific rugby injury forced her off a field and into a boat!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wow, high are fast south Ghost. I got track tackled
from the left hand side, and like I can still
remember the moment so vividly. I could steel the pain.
It was excruciating. I could steal pins and needles in
my legs straight away. And as I was falling to
the ground, I looked down and I saw my foot
facing one way and my knee facing the other. And
(00:20):
I still remember the moment where they rushed me the
surgery when they realized how bad this injury was. I
looked up at the vaculous surgeon and I just said
to him, am, I'm going to move my leg, and
he just said yes.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Nicki is is a woman that has courage by the truckload.
A horrendous on field rugby accident smashed this thirty three
year old's dreams of an elite rugby career. But as
Nicki has often said, dreams never die, they just sometimes change.
Get a I'm James fantasy, and our conversation today is
(00:53):
with this amazing woman who was born and bred in
Dalmini on the far South coast. But right now she's
in Parient, primed for her best shot at Paralympic gold
in the mixed double skulls. Nikki and her rowing partner
Jed Olschwager are the best in their field. The duo
are unstoppable, and that's a word that well describes Nicki
(01:14):
in general, who grew up here alongside her rugby mad family.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
So growing up in Jamini was a great place to
grow up. You know, my brother and my sister and
I we were always playing for We all just ended
up playing rugby league as well. We all played for
Nurima Devils, the did in regul league football clubs down home.
And then when I turned twelve years old, girls wanted
out to playing more unless it was an old female team,
(01:40):
and considering there was only two girls in the whole
comp down the South coast, that was at an option.
And then I had to stop playing rugby league. And
then throughout school we had a new teacher that came
in that had a love for rugby union and as
soon as that school team started up was there. You know,
(02:01):
he's so excited to be able to get back into
a contact sport and then developed a newfound love for
rugby union and was quite good at it. Succeeded and
you'd be really good at like the school rugby and
ended up my sister and I we started playing in
the Canberra Crops for the Tugrinham's Bikeling and played there
for quite a few years. We did that all the
(02:21):
way through high Finish high school essentially, and then I
moved to Canberra and started playing for the Likeling.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
While I was doing this, Yeah, you were also studying
to be a nurse, which I believe you are a
qualified nurse now.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Yeah. So I went to the University of Canberra and
did my Bachelor of nursing that and absolutely fell in
love with that as a career, and then I ended
up specializing in intensive care nursing. Way. I worked at
the Canberra Hospital Intensive Care unit for almost ten years
and did some post grad studies in critical care as
well to specializing that. So I was working as an
intensive care nurse and playing rugby on the site for
(02:58):
fun and for the love of it.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
And I believe you had hoped to get selected for
the Australian women's rugby union team. You were representing the
Brumbies in national carnivals and you were making Wallero's squads
as well. Can you just tell us a little bit
about that.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Yeah, So in two thousand and nine, I got selected
with my first Brumby fifteen A side Nationals and that
was one of the greatest experience just playing at that level,
art playing with your mates and just playing against other states.
It was just a different kind of rugby that you
don't get at that local level. And I made two
Wallery training squads at that point in time, but wasn't
(03:37):
quite ready, wasn't quite there. I had some things to
work on. So twenty sixteen I decided I was going
to actually have a crack and see everything that I
could make myself better and be able to get selected
than wear that green and gold walleriesserving.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, and just as you were on the cusp of
that at the first preseason match of the year for
Tugernong in March of twenty sixteen at Viking Park, you
went down with an injury and your life and your
sporting dreams changed forever. Tell us about that moment.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, it's the moment that well, I will never forget.
So we were at Viking Fight was our first preseason
match and we were killing it. We were scoring lots
of tries. I was having a really amazing game and
one of my teammates and now we made a breakdown
the sideline and just as I off learned to her
to try and put her over the line to score
(04:29):
a try, I got trac tackles from the left hand side,
and like I can still remember the moment so vividly,
so as soon as she hit me, I could feel
the pain. It was excruciating. I could steel pins and
needles in my legs straight away, and as I was
falling to the ground, I looked down and I saw
my foot facing one way and my knee facing the other.
(04:49):
And I didn't know that time how bad it was
that my sister said I was in so much pain
that I was just rolling around uncontrolledbing. One of my
teammates had to jump on me to stop me from around,
and instantly, when it had time to think him as
a nurse, I knew the pins and needles was not
a good sign. And then I realized that I couldn't
(05:09):
actually feel the lower half of my leg and I
could not feel my foot or so that numbness was
just a red flag warning signs to me that something
was seriously wrong. And then eventually got to hospital and
then they diagnosed me with a knee disslocation, and in
the process of that, I pow three ligaments in my knee.
I said it a main artery, said it a main nerve.
(05:31):
And due to the artery dammage, I developed compartment syndrome,
which meant there was no blood supply going to the
lower half of my leg and the must started dying.
So I still remember the moment where they rushed me
the surgery when they realized how bad this injury was.
I looked up at the vacular surgeon and I just
said to him, am I going to lose my leg?
(05:52):
And he just said yes. And that was the last
memory I had, falling asleep, balling my eyes thinking that
I'm going to wait out without my legs.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And I believe you underwent sixteen surgeries over nine months
and then we're diagnosed with foot drop. Can you just
tell us about that?
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Yeah, So, initially I had ten surgeries in twenty one
day to remove on the muscle that was dying as
a result of the compartment syndrome. Because I weren't sure
if I was going to still need my leg to
be amputated, we went through bastage and then over the
nine months because I still the three ligaments in my
knee were still torn because it wasn't safe to do
(06:32):
surgery to repair them because of the other injuries that
I had on my leg. So yeah, it took nine
months for me to get well enough to have my
last surgery and reconstruct my knee as well. And yeah,
so foot dropped that resulted from the damage to my
peranial nerve. So that nerve controls the upward motion of
(06:53):
your foot. And because that nerve was completely seven, I
can no longer leaf my foot up. And because I
had part of my muscle that's scene removed so partially
amputated from my leg, I've lost more control in that
I have very minimal movement in my foot. So I
have an ASO, which is like a carbon fiber brace
(07:13):
that helps hold my foot at ninety degrees to make
it easier to walk as a result of that foot
drop as well.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
So how on earth does Nicky Airs recover from all
those surgeries and setbacks to find herself climbing into a
rowboat to set a new course as a competitive sportswoman.
We'll find out next on Iheartfar South Coast, I.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Art Fast South Coast, I Art Fast South Coast.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
I'm James Fantasy, continuing our conversation with Paralympic rower Niki Airs.
As you've heard, Nicki went through a lot of pain
and rehab to recover from a horrific knee injury from
an on field rugby accident, to then discover a passion
for rowing. She's now a world champion in power rowing,
and this month in Paris she might just add gold
(08:05):
medallist to her credentials. Nikki wasn't a total novice when
it came to rowing. Prior to her accident. She had
competed in not one but two years of the grueling
George Bass surfboat Marathon here on the South Coast, something
that also requires an awful lot of courage.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Yeah, the George Bass is quite brutal. So you were
one hundred and ninety kilometers in seven days from Bateman's
Bay to Eden out in the ocean, and I don't
think it was it was ever two good days, good
conditions in a row in the back. I remember one
day we were leaving Bateman, Spain. It took us three
hours to row one way, and then they finally decided
to turn us around and we rowed an hour back
(08:43):
in the same distance because like the swell was so
high I think it was like over two meter swells
and the wind was just crazy. So you're rolling in
that for four hours. It's like one of the hardest,
most grueling things you can do physically and mentally. But
the challenge is that I really like and I really
enjoyed the teammates that I rode with as well, so
(09:04):
went back and did a second one. So when I
had a phone call with Karen Faulkner, who was the
head casier of Paralympics Australia, and she told me to
go to one of the trains for Tokyo information sessions
at the AS after I had my injury. Paralympics Australia
suggested a few sports and rowing was one of them,
and I thought, how different could this rowing be to
(09:26):
first rate And at that point in time, one of
my best mates Dad was a rowing coach, so there
was a connection there and that's how I got into rowing.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Did you ever consider or were you eligible for wheelchair rugby,
which was introduced as a metal awarding sport at the
Sydney Games in two.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Thousand, Yeah, no, Unfortunately, with my disability I don't classify
for that, so that wasn't on my radar, but it
would be an absolutely amazing spot to be able to play.
They had the nationals down here in Adelaide a couple
of months to go and went along to that and
just the athleticism and just watching them out hours, just
(10:05):
definitely in awe of what they do.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
We spoke with another of Dalmeni's great talents in Winter Olympia,
Valentino Gazelli, on the podcast recently, and he said he
was hungry for gold at the Winter Olympics and after
just missing out on the top three finish in Tokyo,
how are you feeling heading into Paris?
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Feeling very confident in Jed and I and our processes.
So we're trying. Obviously, the goal is gold, that's what
we're going for, that's what we hear. That's as athletes,
the pinnacle of what we do. You know, once we've
achieved that, you can't achieve anything higher than that level
of greatness. So that's our goal. But right now, you know,
when we hear that where a formidable combination and we're
(10:48):
going in as favorites. It's reflecting on that and that
can we have those statements because we have done really well,
Like we are current world champions, we got named while
throwing Crew of the Year, and we've just gone gold
at World perhaps three every pognant, so we're performing well
and so you take that on board and reflect, Okay, cool,
we've got that because we are doing well. But that's
(11:09):
not the focus. The focus is to make sure where
as fit and healthy and as strong as we can be,
and that we have tracked in each other and trust
in our processes that when we get to that start line,
but no matter what happens, there's nothing else we could
have done, and we give absolutely everything and have nothing
left in that tank, and we believe that if we
(11:30):
can go there and do that, we're going to cross
that finish line first and get that gold medal.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Yeah, and heading into one of the biggest races of
your life. What's your mentality and your process with that?
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Yeah, My mentality is just control what you control. Like,
we can't control what the other crews are doing now training,
We can't control what the crews are going to do
on race day. Well I can control is what I do,
how well I rely technically, how much I give it,
and how well, Jed and I communicate and trust each other,
and that's what I'm going to be focused on, just
(12:06):
doing what i can do and trusting in our support stuff.
We've got such an amazing support crew down here at
the South Australian Sports Institute that are doing everything that
they can to put us in the best shape to
win gold at the Paralympics. So it's trusting in the
people around us, trusting in the process, but most of
all trusting in myself and trusting each that we can
(12:27):
do this.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
And at the last Paralympics in Tokyo, you finished fourth
in the mixed coxed four rowing for Australia. That was
your first Paralympics. How do you reflect on your time
there and that result.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Yeah, I reflect on that time as a positive time
for me. With the COVID pandemic, we did not have
an optimal lead up into the games. Like we got
selected in March and then I think it was April.
We had a camp for five days and then that
got cut short because of border closures and we were
at a centralized program, so we had a rolling Nobyn
two of this in Canberra and two of the other
(13:02):
males and our coach in Sydney, so we couldn't get together,
So it was about six months until we all got
together in Tokyo. We had four or five days of
training to try and get the boat together and going
as fast as it can. So for me, when my
goal became to become a Paralympian and I achieved that,
that was one of the proudest moments in my life,
(13:23):
knowing that I'd gone to the Paralympics. I was so
privileged to be there because it was in the middle
of a pandemic where people couldn't even leave their house.
That we were able to go overseas and become Paralympians
and wear the green and gold and give people a
distraction from the reality of the world. And that was
such a privilege and an honor that held so special.
(13:45):
But then when we crossed that finish line and we
were Paralympians and we were fourth in the world, that
we were the fourth best mixed Cup four in the world,
it was an amazing feeling, like so much pride and
honor and happiness and joy that all the hard work
over the last couple of years had paid off. Yes,
(14:06):
we didn't meddle, but for me, I'd achieved that goal,
and I knew all my family and my friends and
everybody who was so integraled to my journey and getting
to me at that point was so proud of me.
So that was my experience there at Tokyo.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Just advice for anyone here on the Far South Coast
who you know has those dreams to maybe represent Australia
one day in any discipline at the Olympics or the Paralympics.
What would you say to them?
Speaker 1 (14:34):
My advice would be, don't ever give up. You know,
you have your dreams and your goals and if you
don't achieve a goal or the outcome you want, have
a reflect in that moment. You know failure is a
positive and you can grow and be better from it.
But once you've got that dream, don't give up on it.
Keep going for it. It might change a little bit, but
you can still achieve it.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Wise words for all of us from Nicky Airs as
we keep everything cross for a golden outcome at the
Paris Paralympics. That's all on Iheartfar South Coast for now,
proudly supported by the new South Wales Government. I'm James Fantasy.
Catch you next time
Speaker 1 (15:15):
I heart far South coast
Wow, high are fast south Ghost. I got track tackled
from the left hand side, and like I can still
remember the moment so vividly. I could steel the pain.
It was excruciating. I could steal pins and needles in
my legs straight away. And as I was falling to
the ground, I looked down and I saw my foot
facing one way and my knee facing the other. And
(00:20):
I still remember the moment where they rushed me the
surgery when they realized how bad this injury was. I
looked up at the vaculous surgeon and I just said
to him, am, I'm going to move my leg, and
he just said yes.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Nicki is is a woman that has courage by the truckload.
A horrendous on field rugby accident smashed this thirty three
year old's dreams of an elite rugby career. But as
Nicki has often said, dreams never die, they just sometimes change.
Get a I'm James fantasy, and our conversation today is
(00:53):
with this amazing woman who was born and bred in
Dalmini on the far South coast. But right now she's
in Parient, primed for her best shot at Paralympic gold
in the mixed double skulls. Nikki and her rowing partner
Jed Olschwager are the best in their field. The duo
are unstoppable, and that's a word that well describes Nicki
(01:14):
in general, who grew up here alongside her rugby mad family.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
So growing up in Jamini was a great place to
grow up. You know, my brother and my sister and
I we were always playing for We all just ended
up playing rugby league as well. We all played for
Nurima Devils, the did in regul league football clubs down home.
And then when I turned twelve years old, girls wanted
out to playing more unless it was an old female team,
(01:40):
and considering there was only two girls in the whole
comp down the South coast, that was at an option.
And then I had to stop playing rugby league. And
then throughout school we had a new teacher that came
in that had a love for rugby union and as
soon as that school team started up was there. You know,
(02:01):
he's so excited to be able to get back into
a contact sport and then developed a newfound love for
rugby union and was quite good at it. Succeeded and
you'd be really good at like the school rugby and
ended up my sister and I we started playing in
the Canberra Crops for the Tugrinham's Bikeling and played there
for quite a few years. We did that all the
(02:21):
way through high Finish high school essentially, and then I
moved to Canberra and started playing for the Likeling.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
While I was doing this, Yeah, you were also studying
to be a nurse, which I believe you are a
qualified nurse now.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Yeah. So I went to the University of Canberra and
did my Bachelor of nursing that and absolutely fell in
love with that as a career, and then I ended
up specializing in intensive care nursing. Way. I worked at
the Canberra Hospital Intensive Care unit for almost ten years
and did some post grad studies in critical care as
well to specializing that. So I was working as an
intensive care nurse and playing rugby on the site for
(02:58):
fun and for the love of it.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
And I believe you had hoped to get selected for
the Australian women's rugby union team. You were representing the
Brumbies in national carnivals and you were making Wallero's squads
as well. Can you just tell us a little bit
about that.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Yeah, So in two thousand and nine, I got selected
with my first Brumby fifteen A side Nationals and that
was one of the greatest experience just playing at that level,
art playing with your mates and just playing against other states.
It was just a different kind of rugby that you
don't get at that local level. And I made two
Wallery training squads at that point in time, but wasn't
(03:37):
quite ready, wasn't quite there. I had some things to
work on. So twenty sixteen I decided I was going
to actually have a crack and see everything that I
could make myself better and be able to get selected
than wear that green and gold walleriesserving.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, and just as you were on the cusp of
that at the first preseason match of the year for
Tugernong in March of twenty sixteen at Viking Park, you
went down with an injury and your life and your
sporting dreams changed forever. Tell us about that moment.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, it's the moment that well, I will never forget.
So we were at Viking Fight was our first preseason
match and we were killing it. We were scoring lots
of tries. I was having a really amazing game and
one of my teammates and now we made a breakdown
the sideline and just as I off learned to her
to try and put her over the line to score
(04:29):
a try, I got trac tackles from the left hand side,
and like I can still remember the moment so vividly,
so as soon as she hit me, I could feel
the pain. It was excruciating. I could steel pins and
needles in my legs straight away, and as I was
falling to the ground, I looked down and I saw
my foot facing one way and my knee facing the other.
(04:49):
And I didn't know that time how bad it was
that my sister said I was in so much pain
that I was just rolling around uncontrolledbing. One of my
teammates had to jump on me to stop me from around,
and instantly, when it had time to think him as
a nurse, I knew the pins and needles was not
a good sign. And then I realized that I couldn't
(05:09):
actually feel the lower half of my leg and I
could not feel my foot or so that numbness was
just a red flag warning signs to me that something
was seriously wrong. And then eventually got to hospital and
then they diagnosed me with a knee disslocation, and in
the process of that, I pow three ligaments in my knee.
I said it a main artery, said it a main nerve.
(05:31):
And due to the artery dammage, I developed compartment syndrome,
which meant there was no blood supply going to the
lower half of my leg and the must started dying.
So I still remember the moment where they rushed me
the surgery when they realized how bad this injury was.
I looked up at the vacular surgeon and I just
said to him, am I going to lose my leg?
(05:52):
And he just said yes. And that was the last
memory I had, falling asleep, balling my eyes thinking that
I'm going to wait out without my legs.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
And I believe you underwent sixteen surgeries over nine months
and then we're diagnosed with foot drop. Can you just
tell us about that?
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Yeah, So, initially I had ten surgeries in twenty one
day to remove on the muscle that was dying as
a result of the compartment syndrome. Because I weren't sure
if I was going to still need my leg to
be amputated, we went through bastage and then over the
nine months because I still the three ligaments in my
knee were still torn because it wasn't safe to do
(06:32):
surgery to repair them because of the other injuries that
I had on my leg. So yeah, it took nine
months for me to get well enough to have my
last surgery and reconstruct my knee as well. And yeah,
so foot dropped that resulted from the damage to my
peranial nerve. So that nerve controls the upward motion of
(06:53):
your foot. And because that nerve was completely seven, I
can no longer leaf my foot up. And because I
had part of my muscle that's scene removed so partially
amputated from my leg, I've lost more control in that
I have very minimal movement in my foot. So I
have an ASO, which is like a carbon fiber brace
(07:13):
that helps hold my foot at ninety degrees to make
it easier to walk as a result of that foot
drop as well.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
So how on earth does Nicky Airs recover from all
those surgeries and setbacks to find herself climbing into a
rowboat to set a new course as a competitive sportswoman.
We'll find out next on Iheartfar South Coast, I.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Art Fast South Coast, I Art Fast South Coast.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
I'm James Fantasy, continuing our conversation with Paralympic rower Niki Airs.
As you've heard, Nicki went through a lot of pain
and rehab to recover from a horrific knee injury from
an on field rugby accident, to then discover a passion
for rowing. She's now a world champion in power rowing,
and this month in Paris she might just add gold
(08:05):
medallist to her credentials. Nikki wasn't a total novice when
it came to rowing. Prior to her accident. She had
competed in not one but two years of the grueling
George Bass surfboat Marathon here on the South Coast, something
that also requires an awful lot of courage.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Yeah, the George Bass is quite brutal. So you were
one hundred and ninety kilometers in seven days from Bateman's
Bay to Eden out in the ocean, and I don't
think it was it was ever two good days, good
conditions in a row in the back. I remember one
day we were leaving Bateman, Spain. It took us three
hours to row one way, and then they finally decided
to turn us around and we rowed an hour back
(08:43):
in the same distance because like the swell was so
high I think it was like over two meter swells
and the wind was just crazy. So you're rolling in
that for four hours. It's like one of the hardest,
most grueling things you can do physically and mentally. But
the challenge is that I really like and I really
enjoyed the teammates that I rode with as well, so
(09:04):
went back and did a second one. So when I
had a phone call with Karen Faulkner, who was the
head casier of Paralympics Australia, and she told me to
go to one of the trains for Tokyo information sessions
at the AS after I had my injury. Paralympics Australia
suggested a few sports and rowing was one of them,
and I thought, how different could this rowing be to
(09:26):
first rate And at that point in time, one of
my best mates Dad was a rowing coach, so there
was a connection there and that's how I got into rowing.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Did you ever consider or were you eligible for wheelchair rugby,
which was introduced as a metal awarding sport at the
Sydney Games in two.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Thousand, Yeah, no, Unfortunately, with my disability I don't classify
for that, so that wasn't on my radar, but it
would be an absolutely amazing spot to be able to play.
They had the nationals down here in Adelaide a couple
of months to go and went along to that and
just the athleticism and just watching them out hours, just
(10:05):
definitely in awe of what they do.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
We spoke with another of Dalmeni's great talents in Winter Olympia,
Valentino Gazelli, on the podcast recently, and he said he
was hungry for gold at the Winter Olympics and after
just missing out on the top three finish in Tokyo,
how are you feeling heading into Paris?
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Feeling very confident in Jed and I and our processes.
So we're trying. Obviously, the goal is gold, that's what
we're going for, that's what we hear. That's as athletes,
the pinnacle of what we do. You know, once we've
achieved that, you can't achieve anything higher than that level
of greatness. So that's our goal. But right now, you know,
when we hear that where a formidable combination and we're
(10:48):
going in as favorites. It's reflecting on that and that
can we have those statements because we have done really well,
Like we are current world champions, we got named while
throwing Crew of the Year, and we've just gone gold
at World perhaps three every pognant, so we're performing well
and so you take that on board and reflect, Okay, cool,
we've got that because we are doing well. But that's
(11:09):
not the focus. The focus is to make sure where
as fit and healthy and as strong as we can be,
and that we have tracked in each other and trust
in our processes that when we get to that start line,
but no matter what happens, there's nothing else we could
have done, and we give absolutely everything and have nothing
left in that tank, and we believe that if we
(11:30):
can go there and do that, we're going to cross
that finish line first and get that gold medal.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Yeah, and heading into one of the biggest races of
your life. What's your mentality and your process with that?
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Yeah, My mentality is just control what you control. Like,
we can't control what the other crews are doing now training,
We can't control what the crews are going to do
on race day. Well I can control is what I do,
how well I rely technically, how much I give it,
and how well, Jed and I communicate and trust each other,
and that's what I'm going to be focused on, just
(12:06):
doing what i can do and trusting in our support stuff.
We've got such an amazing support crew down here at
the South Australian Sports Institute that are doing everything that
they can to put us in the best shape to
win gold at the Paralympics. So it's trusting in the
people around us, trusting in the process, but most of
all trusting in myself and trusting each that we can
(12:27):
do this.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
And at the last Paralympics in Tokyo, you finished fourth
in the mixed coxed four rowing for Australia. That was
your first Paralympics. How do you reflect on your time
there and that result.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Yeah, I reflect on that time as a positive time
for me. With the COVID pandemic, we did not have
an optimal lead up into the games. Like we got
selected in March and then I think it was April.
We had a camp for five days and then that
got cut short because of border closures and we were
at a centralized program, so we had a rolling Nobyn
two of this in Canberra and two of the other
(13:02):
males and our coach in Sydney, so we couldn't get together,
So it was about six months until we all got
together in Tokyo. We had four or five days of
training to try and get the boat together and going
as fast as it can. So for me, when my
goal became to become a Paralympian and I achieved that,
that was one of the proudest moments in my life,
(13:23):
knowing that I'd gone to the Paralympics. I was so
privileged to be there because it was in the middle
of a pandemic where people couldn't even leave their house.
That we were able to go overseas and become Paralympians
and wear the green and gold and give people a
distraction from the reality of the world. And that was
such a privilege and an honor that held so special.
(13:45):
But then when we crossed that finish line and we
were Paralympians and we were fourth in the world, that
we were the fourth best mixed Cup four in the world,
it was an amazing feeling, like so much pride and
honor and happiness and joy that all the hard work
over the last couple of years had paid off. Yes,
(14:06):
we didn't meddle, but for me, I'd achieved that goal,
and I knew all my family and my friends and
everybody who was so integraled to my journey and getting
to me at that point was so proud of me.
So that was my experience there at Tokyo.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Just advice for anyone here on the Far South Coast
who you know has those dreams to maybe represent Australia
one day in any discipline at the Olympics or the Paralympics.
What would you say to them?
Speaker 1 (14:34):
My advice would be, don't ever give up. You know,
you have your dreams and your goals and if you
don't achieve a goal or the outcome you want, have
a reflect in that moment. You know failure is a
positive and you can grow and be better from it.
But once you've got that dream, don't give up on it.
Keep going for it. It might change a little bit, but
you can still achieve it.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Wise words for all of us from Nicky Airs as
we keep everything cross for a golden outcome at the
Paris Paralympics. That's all on Iheartfar South Coast for now,
proudly supported by the new South Wales Government. I'm James Fantasy.
Catch you next time
Speaker 1 (15:15):
I heart far South coast
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