Curtis McGrath had grand plans to spend 2022 relaxing and reigniting his passion for paracanoe after a gruelling Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
Of course it never happened. He still spent very little time on the water, which was part of the plan, but such is his standing in Australia after three Paralympic gold medals, his phone never stopped ringing.
And he admits watching last year’s world championships in Canada online was very tough.
“You think you’re going to have time off, have a bit of a breather, but no, it was quite the opposite,” McGrath said.
“People realise you’ve got time off and they hammer you. It’s nice to be in demand, but at the same time it was really great to have a bit of a breather from the sport. That Tokyo cycle was extremely long and extremely hard, not really knowing if everything was going ahead.
“The world’s last year in Canada, that’s when I regretted not going around again, but at the same time I was needing that break. It puts a bit more fire in your belly to go back around again. Whether I’m successful or not, I’m just happy to be here again and happy to be part of it.”
Now he’s back on the water, and looked happy to be there. On Thursday he had his first two international paracanoe races since Tokyo, and picked up where he left off, cruising to victory in his KL2 heat and finishing a comfortable third in his VL3 heat.
It quickly put to rest any doubts he had about his fitness levels and his will to win after taking a year off.
“It’s nice to be back, nice to see some familiar faces, and also some new faces, so I’m really stoked to be here and be part of it again,” McGrath said.
“There was a lot of work to do to get back in shape, and I still don’t feel like I’m right there yet, but at the same time it’s good to see where I’m at and where we can improve.”
McGrath is already the greatest paracanoe athlete in Paralympic history, having won gold at the sport’s debut in Rio in 2016, before following up with two gold in Tokyo in 2020. He hasn’t been beaten in an international race since 2015, when he was still very much learning how to sit in a kayak.
Next year he’ll be trying to win another two Paralympic gold medals.
“It would be nice to have the success I’ve had in the past, but it is what it is and the best paddler will win on the day,” he said.
The former Australian soldier, who lost both his legs when he stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan in 2012, will be 36 at next year’s Paralympic Games. He would love to keep going to 2032 to compete in front of his home crowd in Queensland, but realistically he gives himself little chance.
And besides, as he learned during his “year off”, there are plenty of things happening in his life off the water to guarantee he’ll ever find himself scratching around for something to do.
Pic by Bence Vekassy
