75. DARREN HICKS - Triumph After Tragedy and the Key to Success; Belief

Today on the show I chat with Paralympic Gold Medal Para-cyclist Darren Hicks. From age 10 to 29 Darren loved riding BMX but in 2014 a motor vehicle accident changed all of that. Darren suffered severe leg and neck trauma with his right leg being amputated above the knee, and his C2 vertebra was so severely broken it required surgical fixation.

But less than a year after the accident Darren competed for the first time as a Para-athlete in 2015.

Darren became a two-time World Champion and set a world record time in 2019 in the C2 3km Individual Pursuit and was named as Cycling Australia’s 2019 Male Road Para-cyclist of the Year.

He wore the green and gold at his first Games at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games winning a silver in the men’s 3000m individual pursuit and then Gold in the C2 24-kilometre men’s time trial.

Darren went on to receive Order of Australia Medal for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020

Today we talk about the accident that changed his life, his transition from riding with a prosthetic to without it and the training load necessary to become the world-class Para-cyclist he is today.

At the end of the interview, after I concluded the episode, Darren and I continued to chat and it was then that he revealed even more about his struggles in hospital after his accident. With his permission, it is included in the episode and at 10mins 38 is when you will hear it. It may be a trigger for some, so if you’re experiencing hardship at the moment, you may want to skip 2 minutes from 10:mins 38.

It was a privilege chatting with Darren and sharing his story and I hope you will be as inspired as I am.

Where to Find Darren:

Instagram: @hicksy37

Support Services:

Beyond Blue: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

Life Line: https://www.lifeline.org.au/

Mental Health Australia: https://mhaustralia.org/need-help

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