Help Fraser in his bid to get to Rio Paralympics 2016

Two years ago, the idea of competing in para-cycling had never occurred to Fraser Sharp.

However the former cyclist, whose life changed after a major accident in 1993 when he was just 16 years old, is not one to turn down a challenge. Just 18 months after someone first planted the idea of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in his head, he has already qualified as part of the five-strong New Zealand team for the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland.

He is not stopping there, as his ultimate goal remains Rio 2016.

“To represent my country at the Paralympics would be a huge honour,” he says. “Anything is possible.”

‘Anything is possible’ are three words that you hear a lot when you talk to Fraser Sharp for any length of time. It is also the catch phrase that serves as an extension of his name on social media.

If you want something badly, you’ll do whatever is necessary to get it. You are the Director of your own life.

That philosophy helped when, after awaking from 30 days in a coma in 1993 to hear that he would never ride again, Fraser Sharp, at the time one of New Zealand’s most promising Junior riders, took direction of his own life. A high-speed collision with a car when out cycling had left him with broken bones, skull fractures, and irreparable damage to the frontal lobe of his brain. Fraser Sharp set about relearning vital skills such as walking and talking, got back on his bike (“I like to prove people wrong,” he says) and competed at national level for several years before deciding to take a break and travel overseas.

After an interlude in the south of France, he started racing in triathlons, competing twice in the longest distance, the Ironman (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run). In December 2013, while he was preparing for the Ironman in Nice, Fraser Sharp was approached with the idea of aiming for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

“I had always competed with able-bodied athletes but I thought ‘why not’? The damage to my brain affects the right side of my body but I had continued racing with the Elite. Brain damage is something you have to live with and it never goes away. It affects the nervous system. My body is like a Formula 1 engine but it needs fine tuning.”

Fraser Sharp's story in detail:

https://frasersharp.wordpress.com

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