ABOUT

THe sam mcintosh STORY

SAMUEL “SAM” MCINTOSH WAS BORN IN GEELONG, VIC, Australia ON 13 JULY 1990.

He was born the youngest of three to Jenny and Glenn McIntosh. As a toddler, Sam learned to swim by necessity when he accompanied his mother to water aerobics and promptly fell into the opposite end of the pool. By the time his mother could reach him, Sam had already paddled himself to the pool’s edge. Since both of Sam’s older siblings were swimmers, Sam got dragged along to squad training before school and on the weekends and, consequently, begrudgingly started training. His first competitive experience was filling in for another child in a relay at country championships. Sam continued to swim competing at state championships until his early teenage years, when he realised that not getting up early to train before school was a much better option. He tried a range of sports throughout his teenage years, trying his hand at martial arts, gymnastics and circus/acrobatics. Throughout all of these sports it was BMX and motorbike riding that he truly loved, riding and jumping over everything he could find.

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The accident and a chance encounter

At the age of 17, Sam broke his neck while BMX riding on holiday. He completely shattered his C-6 vertebrae rendering him quadriplegic for the rest of his life.

After a chance encounter on the street with Paralympian gold medalist Richard Colman’s mother, Kaye, he was introduced to the world of Para Athletics. She said, “My son is a Paralympian, and I saw you from across the road. You look young and fit and you have nice long arms. Have you ever tried wheelchair racing?" A year later, Sam got in a race chair for the first time.

Introduction to Para AthleticS AND international debut

From that point on, Sam has dedicated his life to his Para Athletics aspirations. He initially trained with Mandi Cole, Richard Colman’s coach. Sam rapidly proved to be a rising star. His international debut was the 2011 Para Athletics World Championships in Christchuch, NZL. There he broke the Australian 100m record with his fifth place finish. He competed in the final of all three events he contested in at Christchurch. To continue his impressive year, Sam won gold in the 100m and silver in the 200m at the 2011 National Titles. 

The Second Accident and recovery

Almost exactly a year after his debut in Christchurch, while Sam was at the peak of his game, he re-broke his neck. New Year’s Eve 2011 while on the dance floor celebrating, Sam flipped his chair and fractured his hi C7 vertebrae, one below the initial break over four years earlier. Sam didn’t return to his race chair for three months post-accident, but 5 days after surgery he was already exercising with the London 2012 Paralympic Games in sight. Because of the now limited movement in his neck from fusing the C5 through the T1 vertebrae, Sam had to change his pushing technique. Once back in the race chair, he slowly worked back up to training, starting with shorter distances and rebuilding stamina and strength. He gruelingly trained for the next 5 months.

london 2012 paralympic games

Sam reached his goal of competing in his first Paralympics at London in 2012. He competed in the 100m and 200m events. An experience that he describes as, “absolutely terrifying and the biggest rush at the same time!” and “being on the start line and hearing the whole stadium yelling and cheering was an unforgettable experience.” He was honoured to be able to represent Australia at the Paralympics, and after the excruciating nine months leading into the games after the accident. 

2012-2015: rest, recalibration, and return

After the London 2012 Paralympic Games Sam suffered from fatigue as his body was still recovering from the accident and the strenuous training that lead up to the Games. Consequently, he failed to qualify for the 2013 Para Athletics World Championships and took time away from the chair to allow his body to recover. He returned to racing in 2014 to prepare for the 2015 Doha Para Athletics World Championships.

2015-2017: 2015 doha world championships, 2016 rio de janeiro paralympics, and 2017 London world championships

Sam’s return to the international Para Athletic stage was at the Doha Para Athletics World Championships in October 2015. He competed in the 100m and 400m events. He placed sixth in his 400m heat. He came in first for the 100m heat and placed fifth in the 100m finals. His performance in Doha lead to Sam again representing his country at the 2016 Rio Paralympics where he was slated to compete in the 100m and 400m events. Sam placed third in his 100m heat and fourth in the 100m finals. Just after crossing the finish line, another athlete accidentally crashed into Sam causing Sam and his race chair to flip. While his helmet took most of the blow, this left Sam somewhat concussed. The concussion and feeling unwell resulted in Sam having to withdraw from the 400m event. At the 2017 London Para Athletics World Championships Sam again competed in the 100m and 400m events. Sam placed fourth in his 100m heat and sixth in the 100m finals.

Early 2019: Switzerland and los angeles

In late May and early June, Sam competed in races in Switzerland: Nottwil 2019 World Para Athletics Grand Prix, Daniela Jutzeler Memorial, and Swiss Nationals. Sam brought back a first place win from the Nottwil 2019 World Para Athletics Grand Prix! Shortly after his win in Switzerland, his passion for para sports was spread internationally with a visit to Los Angeles, California in June for the fifth annual Angel City Games hosted at UCLA. Sam was able to enjoy the sun and try out some other para sports including Table Tennis and Swimming. While in Los Angeles, Sam shared his experiences with para sport to the UCLA community. He attended a UCLA Committee on Disabilities (UCOD) meeting and partnered with the UCLA Disabilities and Computing Program for a presentation/speaking engagement and an interview! In August, Sam spent 3 weeks training at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and competed in the first of this year’s ACT Winter Competitions. While in Canberra, Sam hit new personal bests in starts, top end speed, and quickest time trial.

2019 Dubai World championships

In mid-October, Sam was officially selected to represent Australia at the 2019 Para Althletics World Championships which took place 7-15 November. He raced in the T52 100m and 400m events. After a slower run in the 400, Sam managed to come in 3rd in his 100m heat, with a time of 17.76s which moved him on to the finals. In the finals, Sam managed to tie his season best of 17.69s and come in 6th. While Sam would have loved to be on the podium, he is happy with his consistent performances and anticipates much improvement before Tokyo 2020.

evee!

In December 2019, Sam’s hugely anticipated new race chair was finally completed. He has been waiting for one since his chair was damaged in the 2016 Rio crash where his chair was seriously bent. The chair was anointed Evee, for reasons he will not disclose (secrets!). He was thrilled and has been feeling stronger and quicker than ever in the new chair.

2020 Qualifying Races: Summer down under, ACT States, CAnberra Classic

The first Tokyo 2020 qualifying races of the season were the Summer Down Under (SDU) racing series hosted January 20 & 21. Sam raced in the 100m twice (once each day) and the 400m once. On the first day of SDU, Sam raced an amazing 17.04s in the 100m, but it was disqualified because of a wind technicality. The next day, Sam raced the 100m in 17.07s, this time getting an official “A” qualifying time for Tokyo, a new season best, a new personal best, and a new Australian T52 100m record! Read more about this event in “Why Summer Down Under Made Me Scream (Internally)”. Sam acquired his second “A” qualifying time at the ACT State Championships on 25 January with a time of 17.18s, officially 0.01s less than the threshold. Sam’s last domestic qualifying race of the season was in the pouring rain during the Canberra Classic on Feb 13. The weather conditions prevented quick times.

Tokyo 2020 —> tokyo 2021

On March 24, the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics were officially postponed and later announced to occur almost exactly a year later. The 2020 Paralympics will now be held in Tokyo on 24 August to 5 September 2021. Sam intends on continuing to train for the postponed Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Tokyo 2020 (24 August 2021 - 5 September 2021)

The postponed Tokyo 2020 Paralympics occurred between 24 August 2021 and 5 September 2021. Sam’s first race was on 27 August and was the T52 400m heat. Sam finished this heats in 10th, two positions short of advancing. On 3 September 2021, Sam competed in the T52 100m final, which took place in the rain. He came in 4th place, matching his Rio 2016 finish, just short of the podium. Sam notably finished in front of Gianfranco Iannotta, the reigning T52 gold medalist from Rio 2016.

Post-Tokyo 2020

Immediately following Sam’s T52 100m final, in an interview with the Geelong Adviser newspaper, Sam vowed to pursue the podium again at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

off the track

Beyond the track, Sam can be found giving back to his community and helping push for social reform for individuals with disabilities. He co-founded Parallel Sports Inc. a not-for-profit sporting organisation for the physical disabled in the Geelong area. He runs wheelchair basketball and disability awareness clinics for local schools and businesses. He along with Paralympians Richard Colman and Jemima Moore spoke out for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in its founding years, when it was launching in the Geelong region.