https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/journey-to-gold-for-mackay-wheelchair-rugby-star/3675204/ WHEELCHAIR RUGBY: A triumphant showing at the Ken Sowden Cup has Joshua Nicholson dreaming of greater heights. The Australian Steeler shone in the five-match series against New Zealand, as his side romped to a cleansweep victory in Melbourne at the weekend. The former Slade Point resident has been a force in the representative arena, compiling almost 40 Australian caps in wheelchair rugby and garnering gold medal honours for Queensland on the basketball court. Now his ambitions are set on competing in his first Paralympic Games in Tokyo next year. "My goal is to get to the Paralympics, so everything I do is leading up to that,” Nicholson said. "I think ever since I realised I could do it, it has been my goal. It would be incredible; it would be everything I've worked towards paying off.” A case of meningococcal when Nicholson was 14 months old resulted in amputations to his hands and legs.
However far from limiting his potential, he has revelled academically and on the sporting front - graduating with a Bachelor of Architectural Design from Griffith University last year, in tandem with his national commitments. While the juggling act was demanding, Nicholson's close confidant Peter Sumpter said his dedication on the rugby court kept him focused. Sumpter, a regional coordinator for Mackay Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association, has been a close friend and mentor of Nicholson's since the Steeler was in Year 10 at Pioneer State High School. He was informed the prodigious talent aspired to compete in the annual River to Reef Ride, and despite the obvious physical limitations, said Nicholson's strength of mind since then had been memorising. "He impressed me from that point on ... the determination he showed was on a level that anybody seldom gets to see,” Sumpter said. "I think one of the biggest single motivators is he, in some ways, doesn't want his disability to be his defining characteristic. He wants to succeed and get ahead despite that.” Nicholson said he had continuously adapted to his disability more and more each day, and the biggest challenge had been handling how others perceived what he was capable of. His skills have continued to blossom on the court with the more experience he gains, and he said performing alongside the nation's wheelchair rugby veterans has allowed his game development to surge. "It's always a little bit comforting to have someone on the court with you who have done it all before,” Nicholson said. "Andrew Edmondson and Chris Bond have led the way - they've been really encouraging throughout my career and helped push me to get to where I am.” With the Tokyo games on the horizon, a gold medal is next on the young champion's agenda. Regardless of whether he gets selected, Sumpter said Nicholson could hold his head high for all he had achieved. "His development is amazing. When I first met Josh he was reluctant to involve himself with the wider community, and that's a characteristic we see at that stage quite often because he saw himself as too different,” he said. "He has come a long way in his physical development, his education and his social development ... I could not be prouder.”
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November 2019
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