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Listen "Overcoming Self-Doubt, Vulnerability, & Marriage Dynamics with Curtis McGrath | Episode #52"
Episode Synopsis
August 23, 2012. That was the day it all changed for Curtis McGrath. A combat engineer with the Australian army who had been deployed to Afghanistan a couple of months earlier, McGrath stepped on an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) while patrolling the Taliban-infested region. It detonated, taking both his legs with it.
Eighteen months after this fateful day, Curtis was crowned World Champion at the World Sprint Canoe Championships in Moscow, Russia. This started his path to the Paralympics. In 2016, just over 4 years after losing his legs, Curtis true to his word, not only made it to the Paralympics but made history in becoming the first Australian to win a Paralympic Gold medal in the Paracanoe event at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games have been postponed, the goal remains the same; to defend the Gold medal he won in Rio, but also add another with the V1 canoe being added to the Paralympic schedule. The Tokyo Games are going to be an amazing event.
Curtis has picked up an impressive list of international awards including being the first-ever Para-athlete to win the “Sportsman of the Year” Award at the World Paddle Awards, the one Curtis is most proud of. As Curtis conveys, “I’m the first Paralympic or Para-canoe athlete to win the award and was against high profile athletes from all over the world who have achieved a lot. It’s been a very humbling time post Games, and there has been a lot of recognition for what I have achieved. But I’m just going out there and enjoying myself on the water, so to be recognized is really cool.”
Eighteen months after this fateful day, Curtis was crowned World Champion at the World Sprint Canoe Championships in Moscow, Russia. This started his path to the Paralympics. In 2016, just over 4 years after losing his legs, Curtis true to his word, not only made it to the Paralympics but made history in becoming the first Australian to win a Paralympic Gold medal in the Paracanoe event at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games have been postponed, the goal remains the same; to defend the Gold medal he won in Rio, but also add another with the V1 canoe being added to the Paralympic schedule. The Tokyo Games are going to be an amazing event.
Curtis has picked up an impressive list of international awards including being the first-ever Para-athlete to win the “Sportsman of the Year” Award at the World Paddle Awards, the one Curtis is most proud of. As Curtis conveys, “I’m the first Paralympic or Para-canoe athlete to win the award and was against high profile athletes from all over the world who have achieved a lot. It’s been a very humbling time post Games, and there has been a lot of recognition for what I have achieved. But I’m just going out there and enjoying myself on the water, so to be recognized is really cool.”
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