Focused but with sights set high, Matt’s ready to make his mark
Champion Athlete
Champion Cooya wheelchair athlete Matt Sheppard always will have his sights set on the biggest stage he can achieve but, for now, the North Queensland Championships in September have his absolute focus.
Matt, 36, will compete in discus, javelin and shot put, disciplines he has either won or placed in at the past two Australian Championships, including as recent as April when in Perth he won gold in discus and silver in the shot put.
The stocktrader says he was always sporty and his young family’s involvement in athletics led him to step up for the throwing events competitively just a couple of years ago.
A broken back sustained in a gym accident around 16 years ago confined Matt to a wheelchair but the father of three has never stopped his interest in sport and fitness.
“I got back into athletics because the kids are doing it,’’ he said.
“While I haven’t branched out into wheelchair racing, I wouldn’t mind trying it.
It’s a lot more work and expense to get into to get the right chair and equipment. If I can get more time then I will likely try that.’’
The Sheppard family, wife Erica and children Jax, 12, Nova, 10, and Freya, 8, are all active and noted for their achievements in athletics and dance, among other sports.
Matt has aspirations to go to the highest level in wheelchair sports, but there is a long path to get there.
While hopeful of competing at an international level, Matt had a setback this year when he missed a crucial email to be classified in order to go overseas for competition.
“The classification process only happens once a year and I missed that so I cannot attend those competitions this year. But I had an arm injury and likely would not have gone too great in any case,’’ he said.
As for Olympic level, Matt says that is the logical path.
“If I’m good enough, who would say ‘no’ to that?
“But there are so many other things to get through before that is on the horizon.’’
Matt says he feels plenty of community support and is grateful for the well wishes and encouragement.
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