The amazing vow our Paralympic flagbearer made in Afghanistan
In August 2012, Curtis McGrath’s life changed forever.
Then 24, and a combat engineer for the Australian Army in Afghanistan, McGrath lost both of his legs and injured his wrist after standing on a landmine.
It was in the immediate aftermath that he made a pledge to those who had rushed to his aid.
“Twenty minutes after I got injured, I was lying on the stretcher getting carried,” he told the ABC in June.
“I said to the guys, ‘you guys will see me in the Paralympics’. That was what planted the seed.”
McGrath was true to his word.
He not only featured in Australia’s 2016 Paralympic Games team, but starred, winning gold in the men’s KL3 canoe sprint.
McGrath capped off a Rio Games to remember when he was given the honour of being Australia’s flagbearer in Monday’s (AEST) closing ceremony.
Selection came as a surprise, he said, and followed a perplexing period where many of his teammates abandoned plans they had made with him to tour the Brazilian city’s famed favelas.
“It was all trickery (from my teammates), and I fell for it,” he said.
“I didn’t really understand why people were cancelling their plans to hang out with me.”
.@CurtMcGrath brings the Aussie flag into the #ClosingCeremony #Rio2016 https://t.co/OSWbrwXhGY
— 7TWO (@7TWOAU) September 18, 2016
The New Zealand-born McGrath headed for Ipanema instead, when the reasons of his teammates became clear as Australia’s chef de mission Kate McLoughlin approached with a camera crew.
“Next minute, Kate comes around the corner,” he said.
“As soon as I saw her with a TV camera, I knew what she was going to say [to ask him to carry the flag].
“I thought there was definitely people more deserving than me.”
But McGrath’s inspiring story, his success and his natural leadership qualities – he also captained Australia at the Invictus Games, a sports event for wounded soldiers, in 2014 – saw him a natural fit for the role.
In an interview with the Seven Network, McGrath added that being named flagbearer was his “proudest moment”.
Hear from #gold medallist and Aussie #closingceremony flagbearer @CurtMcGrath… #Rio2016 https://t.co/D7qfDT2HJX
— 7TWO (@7TWOAU) September 18, 2016
“Not many people get this opportunity. It’s a great honour,” he said.
“I want to make it very memorable and it’s something I probably will never, ever forget.
“It’s been great – the whole experience, being part of the team, getting on top of the podium and then this great honour of getting to be a flagbearer.”
McGrath also signalled his intention to try and win two gold medals in two different sports at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
‘I’m bursting with pride’: Games chef de mission
Australia finished fifth on the Paralympic Games medal tally, satisfying its pre-event goal.
Australia claimed 22 gold medals in Rio, 10 fewer than it won in London four years ago, but chef de mission McLoughlin said the team was quite young.
“It fills me with pride,” McLoughlin is quoted as saying in the Adelaide Advertiser.
“We’ve got quite a young team and we always believed that they could do it.
“And they’ve got so much more to give, particularly with Tokyo to come.
“The number of personal bests we’ve had at these Games, the number of debutants who’ve medalled, I’m bursting with pride.”
