In our latest feature focusing on athletes and coaches part of intake two of the Para Sport Collective, supported by the ACC, we focus on Northland-based Shooting Para sport talent Eligh Fountain.
There is little questioning the transformative impact that Shooting Para sport has made in the life of Eligh Fountain.
Several years after breaking his back in a car accident and sustaining injuries which resulted in the Northlander becoming a wheelchair user, he felt lost and confused of what the future would bring.
Working through some “inner demons” and “anger” he found salvation reconnecting with his teenage passion for shooting. Initially pursuing clay pigeon shooting he has since pivoted to Shooting Para sport – a pursuit which has given him a clear purpose and something to strive for.
“Since being in a wheelchair I’ve struggled with what I have wanted to do in my life, but Shooting Para sport has given me a whole new perspective,” explains Eligh. “Being around others like my coach (Paralympian #148 Michael Johnson MNZM) shows what I need to do to reach a high level of sport. It has given me a real determination and fire.
“Living in a small isolated coastal community in Northland, I’d never really had relationships with other people in a wheelchair apart from one specific person, but coming down to Auckland it has helped me bond with others who share not only a disability but similar passions.”
Born in Auckland, Eligh left the region as a young boy, as his family relocated to Matauri Bay – a 30-minute drive north of Kerikeri. He recalls an idlyllic life in the picturesque beach settlement where sport formed a central part of his life.
Trying a range of sports in his youth he developed into an accomplished judo and tennis player regularly heading down to Whangārei and Auckland for tournaments. Meanwhile, in his early teens, Eligh also discovered a passion for hunting.
After graduating from Kerikeri High School he took up a job as a concrete layer but a month or so into the role everything changed on May 7, 2018.
Driving with a friend he rounded a corner and lost control, rolling several times, the car then struck a bank. Tossed to the passenger side of the car he suffered multiple fractures but fortunately help arrived quickly.
“I was very lucky that there was a fire close by, so it only took a fire truck about five minutes to arrive at the scene of the accident,” explains Eligh, who was aged 18 at the time. “If the fire truck had have been further away, I probably wouldn’t have made it.”
Transported by helicopter to Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, Eligh had sustained six broken ribs, a deflated lung, a broken collarbone, and a broken back which resulted in Eligh becoming a paraplegic.
Supported by his family and friends in his rehabilitation journey he initially adapted “pretty well” to his changing circumstances before Eligh slowly acknowledged his paralysis was for life.
“I was told for the first two years I would experience my best recovery, which I did,” he explains. “But reality started to dawn around that time that my broken back was not going to miraculously heal and that I didn’t just have a broken leg.”
Despite the unwavering support of his “amazing parents” he sunk “pretty low” for a period. Angry and frustrated because of his life with a permanent disability, he found solace in the gym – where punishing daily cardio sessions on the handbike as supplied by ACC – saw his weight plummet from 110kg down to 65kg.
“My biggest outlet was the gym,” he says. “It was like fresh air to me.”
Trying a number of sports to “keep himself busy” Eligh experienced Para archery, bowling, pool and Wheelchair basketball. “I was not really into team sports because I didn’t like to have to rely on others.”
However, after one day noticing a clay pigeon shooting range when driving, he opted to re-engage in his passion for shooting, which proved an inspired decision.
“I was really nervous about the kick of the shotgun into my shoulder, but I latched on to it a lot faster than I thought,” he explains. “To be able to shoot like everyone else made me feel like I was part of a group. It became my community, a really caring and blessed place for me.”
While clay pigeon shooting quickly developed into a passion the sport is not part of Shooting Para sport programme at the Paralympic Games, so when Sharon, who is part of Eligh’s care team, mentioned to him she had heard of a Shooting Para sport programme in Auckland led by Michael Johnson, he was keen to find out more.
Two-and-a-half years ago he tried Shooting Para sport for the first time at the Parafed Auckland Shooting Club in Mt Eden – it proved a revelation. Not only was he once again engaged in competitive shooting he was also around others with a disability.
“Before going to the range at Mt Eden I’d never had relationships with other people in wheelchairs,” he explains. “It was not as much about the sport but it was simple bonding with people in the same situation. They all understood what I was going through.”
Like a lot of people, one of the main challenges and barriers to participating is cost. “Living rurally means it takes almost four hours one way for me to attend Shooting Para sport camps and other training opportunities” he says. “With grant funding being tightened and, in some cases like Te Pou being scrapped completely, has made things really stressful. I know what I want to achieve, but I’m not sure quite how I am going to do it” he says.
The rifle shooter heads south every month for training and competition. With the rifles costing between $7,000-$10,000 and with no range at home, the Parafed Auckland Shooting Club is his only available opportunity to train.
However, coached by Michael – a three-time Paralympic Games medallist and a record-equalling six-time Paralympian for New Zealand – and Dave Sheely, he is making rapid progress.
“Michael and Dave are two of the most influential people in Shooting Para sport,” he says. “They’ve made me more humble and given me a greater understanding around others with a disability and developed me more as a man. They want the best for me and that motivates me to be the best that I possibly can. The top end goal would be to appear at a Paralympic Games and receive my Paralympian number because that etches my name in the history books forever.”
Nominated by Michael to attend the Para Sport Collective, delivered with the support of ACC, Eligh has described being part of intake two as being “amazing.” Being part of the Para Sport Collective has aided his education around so many aspects of becoming a high performance Para athlete from sports pschology, nutrition to learning about handling the media – and it has motivated the 25-year-old to want to take on the world.
“The Para Sport Collective has taught me to listen more and it has given me a greater understanding of what other people go through,” he says. “I was very tunnel visioned but I’ve learned that the world is not just about me and that there are many other people coping with other disabilities and challenges. I’m quite isolated up in Matauri Bay but being part of the Collective has helped me build so many relationships and friendships with people who share the same dreams.”
To find out more about Shooting Para sport go here.
