Story by Amanda Gillies TV 3
In the playground, in the classroom and on the
sports field, Gisborne nine-year-olds Cory Newman and Tom Duncan are
inseparable.
The commentating and the playing for are done from Cory's wheelchair. He has cerebral palsy.
"I was born early. I was a bit undercooked. And
that's probably the reason I don't have my legs developed as properly as
other people. And I think my brain hadn't developed properly. But over
the years it's developed more and my thinking part has really grown, and
it's one of the best IQs in the family," he says.
But he's a realist who knows he'll never play for his favourite rugby team.
He also thought triathlons were a no-go until his best mate, Tom – a champion triathlete, made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
"Mum showed me a video on YouTube of this big
brother who had a little kid that couldn't walk, and it gave me an idea
to ring Ang and ask if Cory wanted to do a triathlon with me," Tom says.
It was the Weetbix Kids
Tryathlon, but it wasn't going to be easy. For the 100-metre swim, Cory
would need to be strapped into a special rescue tube. Tom would pull him
along.
For the 4-kilometre cycle, a special bike
had to be created and joined to a normal bike. And for the 1.5km run,
Tom had to push Cory in his wheelchair.
"I like
to pretend I was one certain Lego set for each event. Like the Lego City
Fire Boat for the swim, then the Mobile Police Unit for the bike. And
then the run, one of my favourite city Lego sets of all time – the Lego
City Passenger Plane," says Cory.
They trained for weeks, and come race day were working together like a well oiled machine.
"For
Cory it's just being part of it," says Cory's mother, Ang Newman. "He
just wants to be in the thick of it and to be like all the other kids.
So for him it was an amazing opportunity. And it was made even more
amazing because Tom was his teammate and they did it together."
They're
now also keen to enter some winter duathlons together and one day,
hopefully, an Ironman. Cory also has his eye on the Paralympics, but
first it's time for some handball and jokes in the schoolyard.
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