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Tom Scott became a paraplegic after suffering a
spinal injury in a fire-engine crash in Taupo in November 1995. He started
handcycling immediately after getting out of the Spinal Unit, when he purchased
a drive system that bolted on to the front of his existing wheelchair. It was
not a competitive bike, however it gave him a huge range and freedom to ride the
streets - he was hooked. In 1996 he took the bolt-on to Taupo and completed a
40km section of the Great Lake Challenge as part of a Fire Service relay team.
Tom acquired a purpose built handcycle in 2001 and
began participating in as many cycling events as he could, including the
complete Great Lake Challenge (160km) and the 100km Flyer between Rotorua and
Taupo. In 2002 he was part of a team of New Zealand cyclists with disabilities
that competed at the World Championships held in Altenstadt, Germany. This was
the first world event for handcycling and it was a huge success. Although Tom
came last in both his events (time trial and road race), he learnt an enormous
amount from the experience.
In 2004, Tom participated in the New York marathon
in a handcycle and was the first New Zealander home. March 2005 saw Tom in
Perth, Australia, where he attended the Australian Handcycling Championships. In
this event he came fourth, in the process learning even more from the training
camp held there and from networking with athletes from all over the world. He is
returning to Perth in March 2006, where there will be a top field of handcyclists from all over the world, including World and Paralympic Champions.
Through the coaching and guidance of the
Australian Disabled Cycling coach (based in Perth), Tom has improved his
handcycling to the point where he has shaved more than two hours off his times
for Taupo's Great Lake Challenge between 2004 and 2005. He also won the New
Zealand Handcycling Championship, held at the Cycling National Championships in
2005. Tom is confident he can finish the Perth events this year in a respectable
position against increased competition from all over the world. If he can obtain
funding, his goal is to compete on the European handcycling circuit and then be
selected for New Zealand at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
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