In the latest of our series focused on the second intake of the Para Sport Collective we put the spotlight on rising Para canoeist Finn Murphy.
There is little questioning the transformative impact that Para canoe has played in the life of Finn Murphy.
Since losing a leg in a motorbike accident in 2021 and first engaging with the sport around 12 months later the Auckland-based paddler insists the move has given him a fresh impetus and purpose in his life and one which he hopes will one day fuel his ambitions to represent his country at a Paralympic Games.
“Para canoe has given me a goal and a dream and it has brought me a lot more structure,” Finn explains. “It has made me a lot more ambitious which has transferred to all areas of my life. Before (the accident) I was floating through life. I didn’t have any specific drive or goals but the whole experience (post-accident) makes me realise you have to make the most of the opportunities that you create.”
Paddling for just over two years, Finn’s next big goal is the New Zealand Canoe Sprint Championships at Lake Karapiro in April – where he hopes to improve his PB time over the 200m distance. The 28-year-old then hopes this can act as a springboard to compete internationally at World Cup and World Championships events with his long term ambition to compete at the LA 2028 Paralympic Games.
Raised on a lifestyle block in Tuakau – just south of Auckland – he enjoyed an ‘outdoorsy’ upbringing close to the Waikato River and played a range of sports in his youth including football and rugby.
However, Finn’s sporting journey was accelerated as a teenager following a ‘Have a Go’ rowing day at the nearby Mercer Rowing Club. Rapidly embracing the sport he competed as a rower for seven years with his highlight winning gold alongside his brother, Eli, in the Club Double Sculls at the 2015 New Zealand Rowing Championships.
Over time “as life got in the way” rowing faded from the picture as he focused more on his day job building swimming pools only for his life to change forever on Saturday 16 October, 2021.
“It was Super Saturday the day of the big vaccine drive during one of the lockdowns when I was on my way to get vaccinated,” recalls Finn. “I took my motorbike that day because my car didn’t have a WOF.”
What happened next is a little vague but Finn says a van turned in front of him when entering a petrol station. Finn quickly pressed on the brakes but slammed into the side of the van “with a good amount of force.”
Despite the surgeon initially explaining to Finn the chance of his leg being saved was 50-50, he admits to initially being “naive” as to the level of damage he had sustained.
“I had played first XV rugby at high school, so I’d suffered broken bones,” he recalls. “I knew broken bones took six weeks to heal so I thought I’d be walking by Christmas. My leg was mincemeat but the surgeon managed to cobble enough bones together to make sure my leg was still attached. I was still very naive. I thought I might have a limp but that I wouldn’t be out of commission for too long.”
Supported by his friends who had created a scrapbook with all the reasons of how hard it would have been for them had Finn died in the accident, helped lift his spirits.
However, over time reality dawned on Finn as to the seriousness of the leg injury. He spent two months in a wheelchair and four months on crutches but when he started walking again he knew the leg was never going to be the same.
“I had arthritis and nerve damage in the leg before I headed to the UK for a wedding in the middle of 2022,” he says. “I figured it was the first time I’d been to the UK for 13 years I’m going to walk everywhere I can but when I came back home I realised I’d sheared the bolt heads off the screws that were holding my ankle together, so I knew I faced additional surgery.”
The next question was whether his ankle would be locked at 90 degrees or face amputation – for Finn it was an easy choice.
“Because the bolt heads had been sheared off one leg was one inch shorter than the other,” he explains. “I had arthritis and nerve damage and with the thought of not having to feel pain in my ankle, amputation was an easy, pragmatic decision to make. I thought I may have doubts but once I rolled into the operating theatre, I was ready. That’s when I knew I’d made the right decision.”
Post the accident he was unable to re-start working as a swimming pool builder but with a typically positive attitude he accepted his new set of circumstances as the chance to “reset” his life.
Very keen to re-engage with sport – and with the stitches still in following surgery – he reached out to Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ) expressing an interest in four or five sports. Within 25 minutes of the email being sent he received a reply from Canoe Racing New Zealand. Impressed by the speedy response his sporting journey was to lurch in a new direction.
“I was apprehensive going back to rowing because I had rowed at quite a high level and did not want to feel inhibited by my injury,” he explains. “But I still wanted to do something water-based, so kayaking was the natural option for me.”
Paddling for the first time at Lake Pupuke in November of 2022 – and with the floaties on to help balance the boat – he found it “awkward” to be sat in the kayak. But despite the challenges he faced in his new sport there was plenty of positives to keep Finn motivated.
“Following an injury that immobilsed me I felt empowered by doing something that involved moving in the water,” he explains. “It was frustrating at first because I had come from a sport (rowing) where I was quite good and I thought this would carry over. That was definitely not the case, but learning a new skill was part of the fun and definitely kept me going.”
A major obstacle Finn needed to overcome was to balance in the kayak. Falling out of the kayak almost every day for the first six months or so was testament to the challenge he faced while building up his fitness after leaving hospital post-accident weighing 115kg also required patience.
Coached by Gavin Elmiger and citing former K1 200m world champion Aimee Fisher as a training partner he is not short of quality expertise at his finger tips.
“Gavin’s brilliant, the most enthusiastic person I have ever met which makes things a lot easier,” he explains. “He pays a lot of attention to all his athletes and understands that every Para athlete is different, so we adjust along the way.”
Gavin – himself a member of the first intake of the Para Sport Collective – cites “patience and perseverance” as two of Finn’s best qualities.
“He had a solid first year of learning before the stabilisers came off his boat,” adds Gavin. “It was a slow process but learning can be steep. You need patience because some days it is two steps forward and three steps back. Being part of the Para Sport Collective myself I realised that each athlete is unique and their approach to training is unique.”
“Finn truly is a pleasure to work with. It is easy to get up on a morning knowing I’m working with awesome people.”
Training on water ten times a week with the addition of several gym sessions per week, Finn believes he has made significant improvements in terms of his technique and fitness over the past six to eight months which can bear fruit at the 2025 New Zealand Canoe Sprint Championships in April.
Yet as a member of the Para Sport Collective – supported by ACC – he also believes he now has the knowledge base to make a difference.
“Being part of the Para Sport Collective has been a great opportunity to network with other athletes with a disability and learn different ways of dealing with things,” he explains. “Amputees face a unique set of challenges compared to wheelchair users but many of us draw on a similar emotional skillset. I have found out what some of the other amputess do for their training, how they navigate certain issues to share information or network. I understand things from a different perspective.”
Possessing natural power he accepts he needs to better apply this attribute into his stroke but his relentlessly positive attitude helps him make the best of challenging situations.
“Even if I’m having a bad session I can normally bring it back to find a positive or make it seem like the session is not so arduous,” he adds. “It is important to have the mentality that is a privilege to be outside paddling in the sun.”
A student of genetics and environmental science at Auckland University he next plans to compete at the Tikitapu 2 Sprint Regatta in Rotorua on 8 February before focusing on nationals in Cambridge – where he could compete with Paralympic bronze medallist Paralympian 231# Peter Cowan and Paralympian #198 Scott Martlew.
There he hopes to deliver to potentially open the door to international competition. However, not one to dwell on the outcome he prefers to take things day by day and enjoy the experience.
For Finn there is nothing like the feeling of travelling fast on the water.
“It is paradoxical in that it is very tranquil but you are also struggling,” he says. “In those moments you just need to zone out of the discomfort and remind yourself that when the sun is coming up and it is a glassy day, nothing is quite like it.”
