Two weeks ago, Australian Paralympian Curtis McGrath posted a cryptic message on social media. The paracanoeist, who took up the sport after losing his legs in an explosion while serving with the Australian army in Afghanistan, has won three gold medals over the past two Paralympics. But on Instagram, he posted an image which read: “I won’t be participating at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.”
The shock that one of Australia’s leading gold medal contenders would be absent in Paris subsided with a swipe left. “I will be competing,” the next image said. “Paralympians have often been described by media as ‘participants’ and not ‘competitors’. At Paris 2024, it’s time we set the record straight.”
