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Fearnley saluted at Sports Performer Awards
Wheelchair athlete Kurt Fearnley remained humble last night despite being named Performer of the Year with a Disability at the 2009 Sports Performer Awards in Sydney.
“It’s always night to be recognised, and in particular amongst a bunch of Paralympic athletes that have had a fantastic year,” he said.
“This award is a little different in that the general public have the final say, so to receive the recognition from Australians all over the country is extra special.”
This most recent achievement comes on the back of only last week completing the Kokoda Track in support of the Movember movement.
Accompanied by fifteen family and friends whom assisted his passage along the track in areas which prevented his own individual movement such as water crossings, Fearnley crawled the 96km journey in 12 days.
His unwavering determination to succeed is further highlighted by the fact the Fearnley undertook his Kokoda journey after recently winning a sixth consecutive marathon on the international circuit.
“This year has been a bit of a blur and I couldn’t have imagined having the success I had. It’s the first time I’ve gone through a calendar year unbeaten,” he says.
“I’d love to think that I’ll be able to do it again, but the competition is getting stronger and tighter every year, so 2009 might go down as a special year.”
One such win was his fourth consecutive victory in the New York Marathon.
“The breakthrough win in the London Marathon and my third straight win in Chicago were big highlights, but number one has to be New York.”
“To win their again, after a tussle with one of the legends of the sport, and for it to come down to the last metre of the race is something I’ll never forget.”
Despite all of this success, Fearnley, a winner of one gold, two silver and a bronze medal, at the Beijing Paralympics, is in no way slowing down.
“2010 has a few more challenges in the chair,” he says.
“I’ll head to London in April to have a go at back-to-back wins, then there’s the Commonwealth Games in India before finishing with Chicago and New York to try and keep those streaks going.”
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