Hard work, grit and determination paid off

Getting the story sometimes means getting out of your comfort zone. Five of our excellent cadets recount the stories that affected them as reporters at the Otago Daily Times. Today, Jules Chin.

A desire to broaden the range of opportunities for people with disabilities has been the decades-long driving motivation of award-winning Paralympian Trish Hill.

The Oamaru woman’s journey to the Paralympic Games was one of hard work, grit and determination — for herself and on behalf of others.

Her story and sense of humour, which I discovered when interviewing her during the first month of my journalism cadetship at the Oamaru Mail, have stuck with me.

Mrs Hill competed at three Paralympic Games — in 1980, 1984 and 1988 — winning eight medals, in marathon, pentathlon, swimming and, her most successful event, slalom.

Laughter opened our conversation and continued throughout the interview.

When I arrived at her Weston house and commented on her "beautiful dog", Mrs Hill informed me that she had put her pet on a diet, because she was "just like a square block with legs".

Mrs Hill became a paraplegic at the age of 7 after contracting polio. Talking to her, I was struck by the realisation that in addition to the hardships she had to overcome in her own life, she had needed to work hard to fundraise to be able to compete in sports.

Mrs Hill was a founding member of Parafed North Otago. Along with her late husband Dave Hill and other able-bodied members, such as Daphne Campbell, she worked tirelessly to raise money for people with disabilities to do sports and attend sporting events.

In the frosty early morning hours, training to compete in shot put, Mrs Hill said she would heat her shots in the oven.

"But, I often dropped them, because the shot puts were too hot in my hands," she said.

There are not many sports Mrs Hill has not attempted in her impressive and record-breaking career.

"The only thing I haven’t done is archery and croquet," she said.

This year, Parafed North Otago wound up. Its final act was giving $136,000 to the planned Waitaki Event Centre, in Oamaru, to ensure the facilities are accessible to all.

Today, through Sport New Zealand, we have a Disability Inclusion action plan that helps hundreds of New Zealanders with disabilities improve their lives through the power of sport. I was pleased to be able to report Mrs Hill’s story, recording her sporting achievements and her role in paving the way for today’s paralympians.