Paralympic rower Erik Horrie takes positives out of everything life throws at him

WHENEVER you experience tough times and feel like giving up, Erik Horrie wants you to remember his tale of triumph against the odds.

Glenmore Park rower Erik Horrie competing at the Australian Open Rowing Championships.

WHENEVER you experience tough times and feel like giving up, Erik Horrie wants you to remember his tale of triumph against the odds.

Horrie was just seven years old when his parents handed him over as a ward of the state.

Exposure to domestic violence on the home front meant he spent most of his childhood in foster homes.

If this wasn’t challenging enough, at just 21 he was left paralysed after a tragic head-on car accident.

At this point, you could have forgiven Horrie for following the wrong path.

Yet fuelled by the devoted support of his wife Michelle, today he can proudly say he is a successful Australian Paralympian rower.

The 36-year-old won silver in the single sculls at London in 2012 – now he has his sights set on gold in Rio.

It’s a remarkable story of resilience Horrie is now using to inspire others through his study as a youth worker.

“I want to help underprivileged kids because I can relate to what they may be going through,” Horrie told The Sunday Telegraph.

“I’m not saying I understand, but hopefully use my experiences to show them they have a choice.

Erik Horrie gives his son a kiss before setting off at the Australian Open Rowing Championships.

“You can make the decision to move on and you just don’t have to be a number and choose the wrong pathway.

“You can re-angle your life and I think that’s the biggest thing I can pass on.

“I’ve been very fortunate with the awards I’ve won, but that doesn’t make me any different.

“It doesn’t make me a better person and that’s why I want to make a difference.”

Horrie may be in a much happier place, but he’ll never forget the tragic car accident that changed his life forever.

He still has vivid memories of the moment he was told, ‘you’ll never walk again’, but he can also see the positives from his most dramatic day.

On top of his impressive rowing achievements, including three world championship gold medals, Horrie has also represented Australia in wheelchair basketball.

“So I look back now and think without the accident happening I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” he reasons.

“I wouldn’t have been able to say I’ve represented Australia in two different sports.

“I’ve won three world titles, I’ve had a world record in rowing and not too many people can say they’ve achieved that.

Erik Horrie (C) is an Australia Day Ambassador and Paralympic athlete.

“That’s why the accident now is pretty much a blessing in some ways.

“It has made me realise not to take things for granted in life.

“It has also made me more determined in no matter what I do I want to give it 100 per cent.

“You also appreciate what you get. Like when I get to wear the green and gold – that means the world to me.

“It doesn’t matter how many times I put it on, it makes you feel 10 foot tall and bullet proof.”

There’s no doubt Horrie will use this national pride to push himself to greater heights at Rio.

He says the feeling of coming so close to an elusive gold medal in London has him primed to deliver on world sport’s biggest stage.

“It has certainly made me a lot hungrier that’s for sure,” he said.

“I’m more experienced now in the whole rowing side of things.

“In London I had only been rowing for two years, so I’ve learnt a lot more within the sport.

“You are continually learning in rowing, so it’s just understanding a lot more of the boat movement and being able to know when the body is tired.

Erik Horrie in action at the Australian Open Rowing Championships.

“Whereas in London I wasn’t really sure what to do - it was just hang on to the blades and pull hard.”

Buoyed by four years of hard work on the training track, Horrie is now ready to star in Rio.

As he fully appreciates though, he wouldn’t have the opportunity to represent Australia at the Olympics without his wife Michelle.

“She has been unbelievable in everything I’ve done in my career,” he says.

“I know she sacrifices a hell of a lot and puts me before herself.

“That’s not easy, especially with three kids and the juggling act of everything at home.

“But she looks after everything around the house and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her that’s for sure.”

* As the official support network of Australia’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes, Optus is celebrating local heroes with a number of special events in stores around Australia. Athletes include Shelley Watts, Monique Murphy, Safwan Khalil, Anna Meares, Jason Lees, Erik Horrie and Jake Packard.

Originally published as Paralympic rower Erik Horrie takes positives out of everything life throws at him