ERIK DUMPS HIS ‘RIDICULOUS’ PARA GOALS
ERIK Horrie’s commitment to his sport is the stuff of legends.
A self-confessed fitness freak who thrives on pushing himself to the absolute limit, he’s rightly been lauded as one of the best para athletes of all time.
After representing Australia in wheelchair basketball, he turned his attention to rowing – and has won five world championship titles in single sculls.
His dedication to his craft knows no bounds but it’s what he hasn’t won that has been eating away at him – and almost cost him the most important thing in his life.
Horrie won silver medals at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics but was so fixated on gold that he never properly allowed himself to appreciate his success.
So he drove himself even harder, but to a point where it became harmful, both to him and those closest to him.
“All I was focusing on was winning gold so I couldn’t see how that was affecting everyone around me,” Horrie said.
“One day I went to training and when I came home, the family wasn’t there. The wife and the kids had left due to the fact that I just became this athlete that was only thinking about that medal and the race.
“I was taking everything for granted, when I really needed some balance in my life, so that’s when I decided to get some help.”
Horrie had always avoided psychologists, believing that asking for help was a sign of weakness, but not this time.
It was only when he finally opened up about his problems that he realised how wrong he was and also how much he was struggling with mental health.
“It’s amazing what talking to someone does because if you shut the door behind you and try to fix your problems all by yourself they just get deeper and deeper,” he said.
“Dealing with sports psychs has not only made me a better athlete, but it’s definitely made me a better person and a better dad.” The combination of his own mental health battles and the pandemic have drastically changed Horrie’s perspective about how to measure success.
He has patched things up with his family and come to understand that the colour of the medals he wins isn’t what defines him, though that’s not to say he has given up on gold.
He trained even harder during lockdown – breaking a dozen indoor rowing world records along the way – and is through to Monday’s singles sculls final with a great shot at winning – but he’s just not going to beat himself up if it doesn’t happen this time.
“I’ve found my love of the sport again,” he said.