Leg amputation no barrier for athlete
Since he was a child, Brant Garvey has been determined to prove he can do everything able-bodied people do.
The above-knee amputee is completing feats beyond most people with two legs, after breaking a world record in the Busselton Ironman this month.
The 28-year-old's time of 11hr 49min. 20sec. was the fastest in the world for an above-knee amputee and is even more remarkable given he took up riding and running only about eight months ago.
The wheelchair basketball champion and avid swimmer decided to challenge himself further in triathlons.
"I started running on my every day (artificial) leg, which was very painful, so I eventually raised $20,000 to get a running leg and another for riding," he said.
By September, the Trigg athlete was in London competing in the world triathlon championships, where he finished sixth in his category and shaved 27 minutes off his first triathlon time.
This month Garvey faced his biggest challenge yet - the WA ironman triathlon event - involving a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and a marathon run.
"Nothing compares to the ironman - it's the ultimate," he said.
"Getting your body to move in one direction for 12 hours and 226km, it's a whole new world," he said. "I loved the entire event."
He now has his sights set on the Rio Paralympics in 2016.
"When I was younger, it was my way of proving I had a disability but I was just like any other kid," he said.
"It never occurred to me that I couldn't do what everyone else did."
Garvey is looking for sponsors: www.noxcuses.com.au
