Fraser chasing Paralympic dream in Tokyo

To get to Tokyo in 2020, Fraser has to qualify at World Cup events in Europe later this year.

But he has not been eligible for funding to get there so will have to do it all himself. That's why he needs your help!

Five years ago, the idea of competing in para-cycling had never occurred to Fraser.

However the former cyclist, whose life changed after a major accident in 1993 when he was just 16 years old, is not one to turn down a challenge. Just 18 months after someone first planted the idea of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in his head, he qualified as part of the five-strong New Zealand team for the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland.

He did finally get to Rio 2016 at short notice after the selectors somehow left him out of the original team despite winning two national titles at the Club Road National Championships held in Alexandra in March, 2016.

But he rode with great courage in Rio with almost no preparation time, finishing in 8th place in the Men's Time Trial C3 and just outside the Top 10 in the Men's Road Race C3.

“To represent my country at the Paralympics would be a huge honour,” he said at the time. “Anything is possible.”

"Anything is possible" are three words that you hear a lot when you talk to Fraser Sharp for any length of time. It is also the catch phrase that serves as an extension of his name on social media.

If you want something badly, you’ll do whatever is necessary to get it. You are the director of your own life.

That philosophy helped when, after awaking from 30 days in a coma in 1993 to hear that he would never ride again. Fraser, at the time one of New Zealand’s most promising Junior riders, took direction of his own life. A high-speed collision with a car when out cycling had left him with broken bones, skull fractures, and irreparable damage to the frontal lobe of his brain.

Fraser set about relearning vital skills such as walking and talking, got back on his bike (“I like to prove people wrong,” he says) and competed at national level for several years before deciding to take a break and travel overseas.

After an interlude in the south of France, he started racing in triathlons, competing twice in the longest distance, the Ironman (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run). In December 2014, while he was preparing for the Ironman in Nice, Fraser was approached with the idea of aiming for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

“I had always competed with able-bodied athletes but I thought ‘why not’? The damage to my brain affects the right side of my body but I had continued racing with the elite. Brain damage is something you have to live with and it never goes away. It affects the nervous system. My body is like a Formula 1 engine but it needs fine tuning.”

Fraser's Results

July 2014 World Cup Segovia Time Trial 10th

April 2015 UCI Para cycling Adelaide C1, Time Trial 1st

April 2015 UCI Para cycling Adelaide C1, Road Race 2nd

April 2015 NZ National Championship Napier Time Trial 1st

May 2015 UCI Para cycling Cambridge C1, Time Trial 4th

May 2015 UCI Para cycling Cambridge C1, Road Race 2nd

June 2015 World Cup Maniago, Italy Time Trial 5th

June 2015 World Cup Maniago, Italy Road Race 10th

June 2015 World Cup Yverdon-Les-Bains, Switzerland Road Race 10th

July 2015 World Cup Elzach, Germany Time Trial 6th

August 2015 World Championships Notwil, Switzerland Time Trial 10th

August 2015 World Championships Notwil, Switzerland Road Race 11th

April 2016 NZ Nationsal Championship Alexandra Time Trial 1st

April 2016 NZ Nationsal Championship Alexandra Road Race 1st

14 September 2016 Paralympics Rio, Brasil Time Trial 8th

17 September 2016 Paralympics Rio, Brasil Road Race 11th

2 April 2017 Waikato BOP Championships Cambridge Time Trial 1st

9 April 2017 Waikato BOP Championships Cambridge Road Race 1st

23 April 2017 World Masters Auckland Time Trial 1st

30 April 2017 World Masters Auckland Road Race 1st

5 May 2017 NZ Age Group Nationals Cambridge Time Trial 1st

12 May 2017 NZ Age Group Nationals Cambridge Road Race 1st

12 May 2017 World Cup Maniago, Italy Time Trial 3rd

14 May 2017 World Cup Maniago, Italy Road Race 9th

21 May 2017 World Cup Ostend, Belgium Time Trial 2nd

23 May 2017 World Cup Ostend, Belgium Road Race 8th

2 July 2017 World Cup Emmen, Netherlands Time Trial 6th

4 July 2017 World Cup Emmen, Netherlands Road Race 12th

1 September 2017 World Championships Pietermaritzburg, Sth Africa Time Trial 7th

3 September 2017 World Championships Pietermaritzburg, Sth Africa Road Race 8th

1 February 2019 Masters NZ Championships Wanganui Time Trial 4th Mechanical

9 February 2019 Masters NZ Championships Wanganui Road Race 4th

Fraser Sharp's story in detail:

https://frasersharp.wordpress.com/

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=11521247

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=11860744

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=11720689