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Para athlete Mitch Joynt is off to Paris to compete in the World Champs next month.
The former Warkworth resident, who now lives on the Hibiscus Coast, currently holds the Oceania records in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m events.
He says he was not particularly competitive before he had his right leg amputated below the knee following a wood chipper accident. He was 18 at the time and working as an arborist.
He says having such a major accident as a teenager gave him time to rehabilitate and recover.
It wasn’t long before he began thinking about proving himself in competitive sport. After initially trying rowing, and representing NZ in a World Cup as a snowboarder, he discovered a talent for sprinting six years ago and hasn’t looked back.
When not working as a full time truck driver, he trains hard, wearing a state of the art running blade, and works out in his home gym.
Mitch says he mainly competes against himself because sprinting is all about times.
He still has around $5000 to raise to make the Paris trip possible.
Donations can be made here: https://givealittle.co.nz/…/mitch-joynt-to-world-champs
