A study in determination ... Kurt Fearnley in his wheelchair racer. Source: News Limited
ELITE athletes frequently talk about the sacrifices they have to make in order to reach the top levels of their sport, but rarely have those sacrifices been described with such jawdropping candour as Kurt Fearnley uses in his biography, Pushing the Limits.
Writing about his experience in the 2008 New York marathon, Australia’s most well-known wheelchair athlete details the excruciating pain he felt as he pushed his body to its limits — and beyond.
His gut spasming in agony at the 32 kilometre mark, Fearnley writes that the unthinkable happened. Or to be blunt: shit happened.
It is an extraordinary moment in a book that is full of extraordinary moments.
But it’s not as though Fearnley is the first athlete who has experienced such an exquisitely embarrassing problem: indeed, he reveals that the same thing happened to Robert de Castella in his gold-medal winning run in the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games marathon.
When asked about choosing to reveal such an embarrassing moment, Fearnley chuckles.
“It took me about three years to tell my wife about it,” he says. “I was embarrassed on the day and I was embarrassed the following week. It messes with your head.”
Pushing beyond limits ... Fearnley prepares to compete in the Men's 800m at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Picture: AFP PHOTO / GLYN KIRK Source: AFP
But the anecdote hammers home the point, in the most visceral and memorable way, that success at the elite levels of sport takes sacrifices beyond the comprehension of most people. (And yes, Fearnley went on to win the New York marathon that year.)
“There are things you feel as an athlete and there are things where you push to at this level, it’s hard to explain, that desire. You want something that much that will you crawl though shit for it,” he says.
Pushing the Limits lays bear the determination and sheer grit that beats at the heart of this extraordinary athlete. Born with a portion of his lower spine missing and introduced to wheelchair racing as a teenager, he has gone on to incredible accomplishments — 11 Paralmypic medals (three of them gold), and an astonishing 49 podium finishes out of 54 marathons he has contested, including 35 first places.
First again ... Fearnley celebrates as he crosses the finish line for one his favourite events, the Oz Day 10K Wheelchair Race in The Rocks, Sydney. Source: News Limited
And that will to win, that fire, still burns in the 33-year-old’s gut.
The next big goal is the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016, when he will seek to achieve what eluded him in London in 2012: a third gold medal in the men’s marathon, a record that would equal Dawn Fraser’s achievement of three golds in the same event at different Olympics.
At the London Paralympics he came home with the bronze ... and the disappointment is still clearly discernible in his voice.
“From Beijing, every day I dreamt about that moment,” he says of the London race. “That would be one missed opportunity, and I don’t have that many missed opportunities. That one was a rough one.”
Bouncing back from disappointment ... Fearnley is still seeking to equal Dawn Fraser’s record of three gold medals in the same event. Source: News Limited
But Fearnley’s memories of 2012 are not sour; on the contrary, he says London set a new benchmark for the Paralympic Games.
“I have never experienced such levels of engagement,” he says. “It was the most engaged audience I’ve ever raced in front of. They were as engaged as any State of Origin match I have ever watched. They did things with a Paralympics that 10 years ago you wouldn’t have dreamt of.”
Will Brazil be as strong in its support? Fearnley says it’s a big unknown, but simply consolidating the success of London in Rio will be a step forward for the Paralympics.
Chasing adventure ... Fearnley was part of the crew of Investec Loyal, line honours winner of the 2011 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Source: News Limited
Beyond 2016, Fearnley hopes to continue racing marathons, but not at the same level of intensity at which he competes now. Burying that overwhelming will to win will be a tough ask, he cheerfully admits.
Pushing the Limits makes it clear that Fearnley will never be short of a challenge.
The book opens with a vivid description of one such adventure — Fearnley’s participation in the 2011 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, as part of the crew of the winning yacht, Investec Loyal.
A later chapter details the agony he experienced in 2009 when he became the first man to crawl the Kokoda Track.
Astonishing account ... it took Fearnley and his entourage 11 days to tackle Kokoda. Source: Supplied
It is an astonishing account of sacrifice, pain and wildly varying emotions as Fearnley and his team traverse the 96-kilometre highland trail over 11 days, raising money for the men’s health charity Movember in the process.
Today, he describes the Kokoda Track as the hardest thing he has ever done.
“I’d recommend anyone do it, but I don’t recommend that anyone crawl it,” he says. “The whole process was a damaging experience.”
Given how much he suffered, it is perhaps surprising to learn that Fearnley is planning a return trip to Kokoda next year — but just for three days, he promises.
“Three days is fine,” he says. “I could never do 11. You can always handle something for three days. It’s very achievable.”
And after conquering Kokoda, what other challenges lie ahead for this remarkable athlete?
“There are thousands,” he says. “A bucket list is not meant to have a lid on it. There is so much to do.”
Pushing the Limits by Kurt Fearnley with Warwick Green is available through Penguin.
The book ... Pushing the Limits is out now. Source: Supplied
Inspiration ... Fearnley on the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea. Source: Supplied
