Liam Malone, we salute you

All good things must come to an end is a miserable saying, but in the case of Paralympian Liam Malone it has come true. For Malone was a good thing. He was better than good on the track. He was good for Paralympic sports.

He made us gasp, smile and laugh out loud.

He was a beacon of inspiration for youngsters, not just as a sportsman, but as someone who had been to a dark place of depression and come out of that personal cave to stand atop the highest mountain.

And now he has handed out one more life lesson: if your heart isn’t in it, get out.

You can’t compete against the best, if the challenge doesn’t fire you.

So Malone has retired from athletics at 24.

He is springing off down a new track. Maybe there will be a glance or two over the shoulder, but you suspect not.

‘‘I want to find something that I can commit to and be happy in for a long time,’’ he said.

‘‘It would be unjust to commit half-heartedly to those who support me, my coach, the supporting organisations, the New Zealand public, sponsors, my friends and family.’’

There are those in all walks of life who would have just taken the freebies, lapped up the fame, and carried on too long.

I was impressed by Malone on the track, impressed by the way he handled interviews, impressed by the natural way he spoke to large audiences, charmed by his warmth toward young adults.

Now we’d best prepare to be impressed by what Malone does next.

But first, we should say thanks for what he has done so far.

Well we have, sort of ... he was honoured by all of us in 2016, when made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to athletics.

At the time Malone did not rate that his most significant achievement.

That happened three years earlier in Nelson when his mother died, he lost interest in study and was enveloped by depression.

Athletics was his way of getting out of a deep rut, but always he was wary of athletics turning into a rut in itself.

‘‘I don’t like the idea of running around in circles for another four years,’’ he said at the time.

GETTY IMAGES Liam Malone won three medals, two of them gold, at the Paralympic Games.