Golden opportunity
Get ready for a week of sporting feats as the Invictus Games kicks off in Sydney. For the first time, the Games will be taking place in Australia. Champion sportsman Dylan Alcott OAM is on the line-up to host the Games and tells DANIELLE McGRANE why this is a particularly important gig to him.
Every day is a busy one for Dylan Alcott at the moment. The gold medal Paralympian is preparing to launch his memoir, and he’ll be on TV screens as part of ABC’s dedicated Invictus Games coverage.
Alongside hosts Chris Bath and Anthony “Lehmo” Lehmann, Alcott is going to be on the ground for the fourth Games in which those wounded or injured in the armed services compete in sports and the man who started it all, Prince Harry, is Down Under with his new wife the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.
But Alcott has already had his brush with royalty at Wimbledon this year where he played as part of a quad wheelchair doubles exhibition match.
“I have had a one-on-one with the Duchess already so hopefully if I get to see her this time she remembers who I am,” Alcott said.
“I ran into her at Wimbledon. I came out of the locker rooms and there was all this red velvet rope and I thought, ‘What’s that for?’ The security guard said, ‘Someone important is coming’ and then the next min- ute both the duchesses are walking towards me.”
It was his first time meeting the royals and he admits he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to greet them, but he got through it with his own down-to-earth approach.
“I obviously am an idiot and don’t know the protocol and I didn’t know what to say so I just went with ‘G’day, I’m Dylan’ and I think they loved it because she said ‘G’day, I’m Kate’ and ‘G’day, I’m Meghan’ and the next thing I know we’re talking for about five minutes which is pretty cool,” he said.
But Alcott has his own reasons to be proud. He has been a paraplegic for most of his life after receiving surgery when he was a baby to remove a spinal tumour.
He’s a gold medal winning paralympian in both wheelchair basketball and tennis, and says sport has had an enormous impact on his life.
“Sport saved my life to be honest,” he said.
“I had a disability at a young age and didn’t know what I could do and had no friends. But sport got me fitter and more confident and introduced me to people who are similar to me.”
Because of its enormous influence on his life, Alcott has always seen the power in sport and how it can bring people together. And being involved in the Invictus Games highlights his passion even more.
But it’s also a way to highlight how important it is to have access to sports for people of all abilities.
“Growing up, when you want to play football there’s football clubs everywhere but there aren’t an abundance of sporting places for people with a disability to play, so any spotlight we can bring to the issue is essential I reckon,” he said.
“The Games are young and they’ve got really big backing behind them and huge media pull which is really good and brings the spotlight on a really important issue which is helping returned servicemen and women.”
A big part of the coverage is going to be about bringing some of the athletes’ personal stories and journeys to the screen, to show what they’ve gone through and how far many of them have come.
“I know a few of the athletes,” he said.
“One of them who won a gold medal at the Olympics is Australian Curtis McGrath who stood on a mine and lost his legs. He won gold in kayaking. He’s a good mate of mine and there are a few others.”
The Games will help to normalise disability, and Alcott says hearing what the athletes have been through and about their lives will go a long way towards changing people’s attitudes and understanding.
“I think the best way to get rid of that unconscious bias is through real life lived experience and storytelling,” he said.
Invictus Games Today Tonight 7.40pm, then 8pm weeknights on ABC and ABC iview