‘Sport gives people hope’: Ben Lucas

Former Marlborough Sportsperson of the Year Ben Lucas says there is no event in the world like the Paralympic Games.

“It’s phenomenal to watch what people can do, after the curve ball life has thrown them,” says New Zealand’s Paralympian No 99.

He should know. Ben, who competed in wheelchair racing in two Paralympic Games in Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000), was New Zealand’s Chef de Mission for Rio 2016, the team’s most successful Paralympics with 21 medals.

“Life is different with a disability,” says Blenheim-born Ben.

“This Paralympic Games [in Tokyo] is like no other because it harnesses the human spirit. These athletes have never given up and for many, sport and the goal of the competing at the Paralympics has been a big part of their rehabilitation.

“But at the Paralympic Games, they’re not thinking about what they’ve overcome, they’re only focused on winning and being the best in the world.”

It makes for enthralling viewing.

A record number of broadcasters will live telecast 21 disciplines from 19 sports, six more than Rio 2016. This means Tokyo 2020 is expected to exceed the cumulative audience of 4.1 billion who watched the Rio 2016 Paralympics.

Ben’s life changed in a moment over 30 years ago.

In 1989 aged 24, Ben crashed his motorbike into a U-turning van and broke his L3 lumbar vertebrae which left him paralysed. He has vivid memories of that day in Newmarket.

“It was a 50/50 call whether the driver had seen me and would stop, or he’d keep going. I thought he’d seen me. It was the wrong call.”

“I thought very early on there are a couple of ways I can do this; I can feel sorry for myself or I can make the most of every day and have the best possible life. I chose the second option, and I didn’t look back.”

ACC played a leading role in his rehabilitation.

During his time at the Auckland Spinal Unit, Ben saw a photo of wheelchair racing and it sparked his imagination.

When he was discharged home to Blenheim, he travelled across to Nelson to play wheelchair basketball every week. He had a chance meeting with former Paralympian, Morice Hennessey, who introduced him to wheelchair racing.

“I was bitten by the bug. I loved it straight away and wanted to see how far I could go.”

He was introduced to track meets in Christchurch and made an inauspicious start.

“My first meet I got lapped in the 1500m,” he laughs.  “It was humiliating getting the clap of shame from the whole grandstand as I came in in last place.”

He used that moment as a catalyst to take the sport seriously.

“I was determined to not get lapped again so I put in some work and slowly I improved.  In the end, I was competing at Paralympic level.”

It was an “unbelievable honour” to line up for his first Paralympic Games in 1996 in Atlanta.

He made the semi-finals of the 5000m and 10,000m and finished eighth in the marathon.

Ben was the Kiwi flag bearer for both the 1996 and 2000 Paralympic – something he never dreamed would have been possible in 1989 when he was lying prone in hospital.

After finishing 15th in the wheelchair marathon in Sydney, he retired from all competition.

His highlights included winning a bronze medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada and a gold medal in the 1999 World Wheelchair Games in Christchurch.

During his heyday of competing around the world, Ben began working with Parafed Canterbury where he initiated the Parafed Canterbury Elite and Development Squads and mentored athletes.

One day, Mark Inglis gave him a call and said he wanted to compete in cycling at the Paralympics. Ben had had a few people come to him with the same speech and so he told him exactly what he needed to do to achieve his goal.

Every week, Ben talked with Inglis to offer advice and support so when he won a silver medal on the track in Sydney it was an immensely proud moment.

“He threw the silver medal on my lap and said this is just as much yours as it is mine. I don’t know about that, but it was nice to play a part.”

Ben has high hopes that the NZ Paralympics Team can emulate the feats of the NZ Olympic team who enjoyed a record medal haul in Tokyo.

“It’s a massive challenge,” he says. “They are competing against the best in the world and there is the unknown factor of competing in empty stadiums. I would say enjoy this experience. It will be vastly different from anything you do in the future.”

Ben, who works for ACC as a Lead Disability Advisor, says their partnership with Paralympics NZ is a natural fit.

He says many Para athletes and development athletes are ACC clients and the difference sport can make to someone’s recovery is profound.

“Sport gives people hope. It’s part of their rehabilitation. It gives them discipline, purpose and that leads on to greater things as they go on in their lives.  They see others in a similar position to them doing great things and realise that they too can do this.” - Content supplied by Peter Thornton.