By GREG ANSLEY
SYDNEY - In a contest in which courage and true grit are standard requirements, Matt Slade stands out.
The Christchurch runner concealed a fractured ankle this week to compete in three events at the Paralympic Games - running six races, winning silver and bronze, and finishing a close fourth
last night in a personal best for the gruelling 400m.
Slade, a cerebral palsy athlete, had to be taken back to the athletes village in a wheelchair.
"I sort of felt that if I didn't run I would be letting the rest of the team down," he said.
"I mean, I'm disabled anyway and I'm not going to let a stress fracture stop me from going out there."
Slade discovered the stress fracture, in his right ankle - his starting foot - after he had a scan on Sunday because of worsening pain during training, and several falls.
That night he was to compete in the final of the T37 200m. He won silver, followed on Wednesday by bronze in the 100m.
He finished just 0.34s short of a bronze in the 400m last night.
Slade clocked three personal bests on his damaged leg.
He told the team doctor and physiotherapist, but no one else in the team knew until he confessed to track manager Tony Savage, who advised him not to run last night.
When suspicious team-mates asked him if he was hurt, he said the limp was due to his cerebral palsy - and he ran anyway.
Slade said last night's race was the toughest.
"I was in a lot of pain and I was just struggling," he said. "I had no strength.
"But I was even faster than in my 400m semifinal the other night. I just couldn't believe it, so I'm pretty happy with that."
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