‘It’s been tough to focus’: McGrath’s mind on Afghanistan after Taliban takeover

Tokyo: Curtis McGrath admits it’s been difficult to focus on the task at hand of winning back-to-back Paralympic gold medals following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan - the country where he lost both legs in 2012 after stepping on an explosive device.

The Australia canoe champion brushed off a few tricky moments in his opening heats on Thursday after twice veering slightly off course in the KL2 and VL3 events.

Curtis McGrath competes in the men’s heats on Thursday. Credit: Getty

McGrath eased off late in his men’s kayak single 200m heat but comfortably qualified for Friday’s semi-finals.

The former Australian Army combat engineer lost both his legs in Afghanistan nine years ago but delivered on his pledge to make it to the Paralympics in Brazil where he won gold in the KL2 event.

Curtis McGrath, pictured in 2018. Credit: Gregg Porteous

News of the Taliban seizing power in the Afghanistan capital city of Kabul has not been easy to take for many Australian soldiers who spent good portions of the past two decades there helping resist a Taliban takeover.

“It has been a little bit tough to focus on what I am trying to do,” said McGrath, a ten-time world champion. “My heart goes out to all the people of Afghanistan that potentially might have their freedoms taken away from them and the peace we’ve tried to establish over the last 20 years is something we want to try and maintain. It just wasn’t to be.

“I hope for the future they can figure it out and we can see more of Afghanistan around the world and globally represented like they are here at the Paralympics. I’m here to race for the Paralympic Games and represent Australia and that’s what I’m going to do.”

In McGrath’s heat for the men’s Va’a single 200m, the 33-year-old almost slipped out of his lane late as his canoe contacted a buoy near the finish line. Although a red flag went up, his heat run was approved and he made it through to the final.

McGrath, however, wasn’t able to progress directly to Saturday’s KL2 final but is confident his aspirations of another gold medal remain intact.

“In the VL3, again, [I had] a bit of an issue staying in the centre of my lane,” McGrath said. “I kinda ran into the blocks at the end there but that’s past the finish line and in my mind that’s out of play. No issues.

“It’s tough. These boats don’t have rudders. You’ve got to manipulate them, especially when there’s a bit of a breeze out here. Some of the rules maybe need to be talked about, in terms of keeping it in your lane, rather than in the middle of your lane.”

“That was a really tough race, almost finals like. [Great Britain athlete] Stuart Wood on the inside of me is a tough competitor and it’s really great to be able to race internationally again. I could see out of the corner of my eye I was a little bit ahead. The goal is to not do too many changes with my style of paddling. I had a bit of calculated risk and allowed the boat to drift right at the end there.”