Paralympian dies in accident
TO MANY, Kieran Modra was the Paralympic great who overcame being born visually impaired to win five gold and five bronze medals at the Games.
But, according to friends within the South Australian sporting community, Modra considered himself an advocate for the Paralympic movement, more so than one of SA’s top athletes.
“When he retired he said ‘I hope people know there was more to me than being able to ride a bike fast’,” Cycling Australia’s welfare manager Murray “Muz” Lydeamore said yesterday.
“The sport gave Kieran an identity out there in the community … but for Kieran it was much wider than that — he had a genuine interest in other people.
“That was not just in Australia, but overseas, where he would spend time speaking to athletes of other countries.
“He was recognised as a world champion athlete, but that was not how Kieran wanted to be known.
“He was incredibly caring about other persons with a disability and was seeking to give them the opportunity to pursue ... their dreams.”
Modra, an eight-time Paralympian who won five gold and three bronze medals in tandem cycling and two in swimming, died on Wednesday. He was hit by a car on the Sturt Highway at Kingsford, north of Gawler, while cycling to Clare from his home at Hallett Cove.
The 47-year-old died at the scene.
Modra often spoke about his journey — from competing at the 1988 Seoul Paralympics in athletics, to winning two bronze medals at the 1992 Barcelona Games as a swimmer, then going to six more as a tandem cyclist — to schools and community groups. In 2014, he was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia medal for significant service to sport and to low-vision or blind people.
Modra was a family man to wife Kerry and their three daughters Makala, Holly and Janae, an incredible athlete and strong-willed rider, but he could also be unconventional.
His hobby was tatting — a type of lace handcrafting taught to him by his grandmother.