Scott’s story: Finding a new passion after a shock amputation

Fourth. There’s probably no worse place to finish at the Paralympics.

That’s how New Zealand para canoeist Scott Martlew sees it after coming agonisingly close – he missed out by 0.3 seconds – to winning his first medal in the 200m KL2 final at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

Fastest in the heats, Scott finished fourth behind Curtis McGrath (Australia), Mykola Syniuk (Ukraine) and Federico Mancarella (Italy).  

That near miss has stayed with Scott over the past three years and has fuelled his training every day as he looks to get on the Paralympics podium in Paris next year.

“I’d worked so hard, so to miss out by the smallest of margins was painful,” the 30-year-old says.  

“There were a lot of learnings from Tokyo. I’ve reflected a lot on it and analysed where we might have gone wrong, and where we can improve. It’s all part of my journey to be ready to go again in Paris.”

That quest began this month when he lined up for New Zealand at the Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Germany.

He finished fourth in the male 200m KL2, a performance which secures a place for New Zealand in that event at the Paralympics.

“It’s exciting to give it another crack,” he says.

Competing in the Para World Champs, and traveling the world as a Paralympian, is worlds away from where he’s been.

Dream turns into a nightmare

In May 2010, Scott lined up for the Shirley Boys’ High School first XV in a curtain-raiser to the Crusaders vs Brumbies Super Rugby clash at AMI Stadium in Christchurch.

The Crusaders back then were stacked with rugby greats, like Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter, and Scott remembers the excitement amongst the lads ahead of the game.

“Everyone was pumped,” the former lock and blindside flanker says.

“Playing in front of some All Black legends was a dream come true for all of us.”

But that dream turned into a nightmare for the 17-year-old.   

Midway through the first half, he copped an accidental knee to his thigh. He was in a bit of pain but ran it off and thought nothing of it.

“I played pretty well,” he says. “I scored the last try of the game which was a cool moment. Some of the details after that are a bit hazy.” 

Six days later, he was in ICU at Christchurch Hospital battling necrotising fasciitis – a serious bacterial infection that results in the death of the body’s soft tissue. It claimed his left leg, part of his buttock, and very nearly his life as he lay in an induced coma.

“It was terrifying,” he says.

Scott’s condition deteriorated quickly and his body started shutting down.

He was rushed into surgery, where they opened up his leg and became aware of the infection.

“I can’t remember most of that period, which is probably a good thing,” he says.

“My parents had to make the call on whether to amputate my leg or not. If they didn't, I probably wouldn’t be here today.”

Scott was a sports-mad teenager. He loved rugby, getting out for a run on the roads and kayaking. Waking up in hospital with his leg amputated was surreal. 

“I remember waking up in intensive care and seeing my leg gone – it was a pretty frightening experience,” he says.

“I was in total disbelief about losing my leg. Even though you’ve been told you’ve lost your leg, you can’t believe it because you can still kind of feel it there.

“So I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ It was a very traumatic time and a long road to recovery.”

He was in hospital for four weeks after his operation. Scott says ACC has been a huge help in his recovery.

“They’ve been there in every step of my journey and that support helped me to start again,” he says.

Making the most of life

Sitting on his hospital bed, Scott made his mind up.

“I said to myself, ‘I’m not letting this injury hold me back and, whatever happens, I‘m going to make the most out of life’.”

When he was out of hospital, sport played a key role in his recovery. He was grateful he could still paddle.

Some good mates from South Brighton Surf Club encouraged him to get back in the boat again, which proved to be a turning point.   

Scott and his twin brother Michael had earlier got into dragon-boating as pre-season rugby training, which developed a love for water sports and led to surf lifesaving and kayaking.

Around the same time Scott got back on the water, para canoe was included in the Paralympics for the first time, debuting at the Rio edition in 2016.

“That changed everything,” he says. “All of a sudden I had something to aim for – I could try to become a Paralympian.”

It hasn’t all been plain paddling though. He’s had to endure plenty of ups and downs throughout his life but has always fought hard to win the mental battle.

“Sport has been a big part of that and also having good mates around me who I can be honest with.”  

‘It’s okay not to look like everyone else’

When he lost his leg, Scott says it was easy to think everyone was looking at him.

One of the things he learned early on was not to worry about his self-image. He encourages others with a life-changing injury to be brave. 

“Obviously, losing your leg is a big thing to go through and it changes your whole self-image,” he says.

“But I didn’t hide away because I’d lost my leg. People will look at you and you’ve got to kind of accept that as normal. You don’t look like everyone else and that’s okay.”  

He says people are going to stare and sometimes say insensitive things, so you have to accept it.  

“But then you’ve got to realise you can’t let that or what you look like hold you back from anything. You’ve just got to get out there and do it.” 

Back doing what he loves

Scott says getting back on the water after his injury was the best feeling.

“I love to compete, and I love being out there with my mates on the water. And the best thing is making progress and improving each day to try and be better than you were.”

Scott used his newfound passion to qualify for Rio 2016 and then backed it up in Tokyo four years later.

After the heartbreak of Tokyo, he’s motivated to show his ability on the world stage in Paris.

“This has been three years in the making and I’ll be ready,” he says.

When times get tough, he’ll call on an old catch-cry from his first XV rugby days.  

“The mantra was ‘Never give up. Never back down’. And over the years that’s been a big part of my story.”

ACC CEO Megan Main with Paralympics NZ CEO Fiona Allan, Para athlete Siobhan Terry and Para cycling coach Jack Cooper.

ACC and Paralympics New Zealand

• ACC is proud to be a community partner of Paralympics New Zealand.
• ACC and Paralympics NZ believe participation in Para sport has a positive impact on wellbeing and rehabilitation.
• The aim is to motivate and inspire people to lead active lives, through positive role models and opportunities to try Para sport – at any level.
• There are several regional disability sport and recreation organisations around New Zealand, which are called Parafeds. Some national sports organisations also offer Para sport.
• More information and a full list of Parafeds and other Para sport providers is available on the Paralympics NZ website.