Northland Paralympic athlete Gary McMurray celebrates sporting milestone

Northlander Gary McMurray at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, where he and his Wheel Blacks teammates won gold.

Northland Paralympic gold medallist Gary McMurray has celebrated a huge sporting milestone while pondering the state of disability access in New Zealand.

The former Wheel Black - who was part of the wheelchair rugby team that struck gold at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games - celebrated the 20-year anniversary of his gold-medal success with teammates in Auckland on September 21.

McMurray said the reunion with his support crew and team, including teammate and fellow Northlander Steve Guthrie, made for a “fantastic night”.

The highlight included a dinner at the Greek Hall with the Greek Consulate.

“It [the 2004 Paralympic Games] doesn’t seem like that long ago.

“With the Greek-themed evening, it took us back to that moment in time.

“We’re all together as a team and we feel we can beat all the obstacles thrown at us - it was a special thing to be part of.

“There was a wonderful positive energy, which brought back the togetherness of the team.”

McMurray said while Paralympic sport has come a long way in New Zealand over the past 20 years, the same can’t be said regarding accessibility for the disabled community.

His comments come off the back of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, which finished on September 8.

“There have only been three ball sports teams in the history of New Zealand who have won gold in the Olympics and Paralympics: the Black Ferns, the men’s 1976 Olympic hockey team, and the Wheel Blacks.

“The wider community didn’t think we could be at the same level as Olympic athletes.

“In terms of accessibility, disabled access hasn’t moved with the same progression in the community.”

McMurray started out in the sport of wheelchair rugby in 1991 with a bunch of mates learning a new game.

He set up the New Zealand wheelchair rugby structure for the domestic competition which is still used today.

McMurry and Guthrie competed at three Paralympic Games; in Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000, where they won bronze, and the gold-medal Athens Games in 2004.

McMurray moved from Auckland to Northland 11 years ago.

He owns 2ha of land in Paparoa and spends time “pretending to be a farmer” by managing the fencing, gorse and sheep.

He is also involved in hand cycling.

Northland Paralympian Cameron Leslie narrowly missed out on a medal at the recent Paris Paralympic Games.

He said Northlanders could do much more if barriers were removed.

“Northland has so many people with potential that if we all got together and lifted each other up, it would lead to many more great Paralympic athletes.

“Removing some of the barriers, whether they be environmental, in terms of accessibility, or limited travel conditions.

“It’d be wonderful to see another Cameron Leslie come out and be successful from Northland.”

Two members of the 2024 NZ Paralympic team in Paris - Neelam O’Neill (para sport shooting) and Cameron Leslie (para swimming) - are originally from Whangārei.

Leslie, a Paralympic veteran, made four finals in his events, including two fourth-placings - one in the men’s 50m freestyle S4 and one in the men’s 50m backstroke S4.

Northlander Neelam O'Neill was the first woman to represent New Zealand at the Paralympic Games in a pistol event.

O’Neill, a rookie Paralympian, was the first female shooting para sport athlete for 40 years and the first woman to represent New Zealand in the Paralympic Games in a pistol event.

She finished 10th in the women’s pistol event.

McMurray said the Paralympic Games represent the “ultimate in New Zealand spirit”.

“To see people creating solutions to their lives ... we can focus on what can happen to a person, but what is more important is how they can adapt to it.”

Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.