Mervyn Mathews made his Paralympic debut competing in Para lawn bowls at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games. He was one of 27 debutants which made up the New Zealand Paralympic Team of 34 Paralympians. Alongside his fellow teammate and returning Paralympian #67 Peter Horne, Mervyn competed in the Men’s Singles LB3-5. Although Mervyn was unable to make it through to the finals he had an outstanding win against Samuel Shaw from Great Britain with the final score of 25-24. Shaw went on to win gold in this event, but Mervyn was the only competitor to really challenge and win against Shaw.
Only 3 Paralympians have represented New Zealand in the Para sport of lawn bowls at the Paralympic Games. Since 2000, this Para sport is no longer part of the Paralympic event programme. It is currently part of the Para sport programme at the Commonwealth Games.
Mervyn passed away in 2005 and his family lives in the Waikato region.
