Lauren Parker is on the hunt for gold at Paris Paralympics
The elite triathlete lived every cyclist’s worst nightmare in 2017 after crashing during training but racing takes the pain away for Lauren Parker.
Lauren Parker’s tattoo says Kia Kaha. Stay strong. A bit of an understatement, really.
“I’m just in so much pain 24/7,” says the indomitable Novocastrian tackling three events across two sports at the Paris Paralympics. “It’s very hard for me to relax. It’s not like I’m on the couch watching TV and I’m pain free. Because I’m not. Close to 90 per cent of my body, I feel like I’m being stabbed with needles and it’s horrific. I always need to have my mind occupied and that’s why I love training so much. It’s my escape from reality.”
Parker was an elite triathlete when she lived every cyclist’s worst nightmare in 2017. Both bike tyres burst when she was hurtling along the Pacific Highway, near Newcastle, at 45km/h. She was flung into the guard rail and among her multiple injuries was paraplegia. Her doctor said her sporting days were over. She told the doctor to get stuffed. Might have been an F-bomb in there somewhere. Kia kaha.
“I broke my shoulder, four broken ribs, punctured lung, broken pelvis, broken back and obviously spinal cord damage, which left me instantly paralysed from the waist down,” she says. “It changed my life in a split-second. I went into hospital for spinal fusion surgery and then they told me that I’ll never walk again. That I need to live the rest of my life in a wheelchair.”
The 35-year-old is from Newcastle in NSW. It’s a tough old town with a long list of sporting luminaries. From Paralympic legend Kurt Fearnley to world surfing champion Mark Richards, rugby league’s Andrew Johns, snooker’s Eddie Charlton and Test cricket captain Belinda Clark, for starters, Novocastrians have done their bit for Australian sport. None have been more tenacious, persistent and courageous than Parker.
“The doctor told me I was a nought to one per cent chance of walking again,” she says. “I just couldn’t accept it then and even now, I still fail to accept it.”
She’s forever hunting a Paralympic gold medal. She was beaten by just a tenth of a second by American Kendall Gretsch when taking silver in the triathlon at the Tokyo Games. She’ll go for gold in Paris on Monday (12.25am AEST). If she survives her dip in the River Seine – never a sure thing – she’ll back up in the cycling individual time trial two days later. A quick 24-hour break and then she’ll saddle up for the road race. Two sports, three events, four days – you’ve gotta be beyond forever strong.
“I’ve had an up and down preparation,” she says. “I had a bike accident in March that left me with a few challenges. The foot pods on my bike that my feet rest in, the four bolts came loose mid-ride and my foot fell to the ground at 35km/h. My leg flung back and my pelvis and lumbar spine twisted out of place. They’re still out of place.”
Parker has won eight world titles in five years in triathlon and cycling. Reckons she can reach the podium in all three events in Paris. “It just creates more motivation. This time around, it’ll be different. Tokyo was disappointing but that only created more fire in the belly,” she says. “I know I’ve got unfinished business. All I’ve been thinking about for the last three years is getting a gold medal.”
The New Zealand Maori-inspired Kia Kaha inkwork on her forearm barely does her justice. There’s no overstating her resilience, really. She refuses to say “I can’t” in sport or life. Admits she’s been obsessed with training and competing ever since she told her doctor to get nicked.
“After three months in hospital and three months in rehab, I signed myself out,” she says. “It was really negative. Frustrating and draining. Not just physically but emotionally, too. They told me I’ll never be an athlete again but around that time I found that para-triathlon existed. It was a real eye-opener. There were people far worse than I was and they were still competing in the triathlon. There were kids with no arms and legs … it gave me hope that I could get back into my sport. It saved my life.”
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