Mitch Joynt has always loved sport. As a child growing up near Warkworth, he was either watching it, playing it, or tracking the statistics of teams which he followed. Growing up, he would practice place kicks or drop goals for hours most days at his old primary school rugby field.
In 2013, Mitch had an accident at work which resulted in him having his right leg amputated below the knee. He had to learn to walk again. He credits his attitude as the number one tool for getting through that period.
Mitch wanted to get back into sport as soon as he could. He was introduced to the world of Para sport by a coach who spotted him doing the Auckland Marathon in 2017. He tried javelin, long jump, sprinting and even Para snowboarding, eventually becoming a sprinter. His preferred event is the 200m.
Proud moments at the World Para Athletics Championships
He announced his arrival on the global stage at the Paris 2023 Para Athletics World Championships when clinching a dramatic bronze medal in the Men’s 200m T64. Blitzing to an Oceania record mark of 23.32 (-0.3) he seized his opportunity to climb the podium after Paralympic champion Sherman Guity – in the running for gold at the time – tripped and fell just metres from the finish line.
Mitch has continued to improved, lowering his Oceania record with an outstanding mark of 23.15 to take Men’s 200m T64 bronze – within just 0.04 of gold medallist Wallison Andre Fortes of Brazil – at the Kobe 2024 Para Athletics World Championships.
On his debut for the NZ Paralympic Team, Mitch placed sixth in the Men’s 200m T64 final at Paris 2024 clocking a time of 23.16 – within 0.01 of his lifetime best.
Mitch is the current world record holder for the Men’s 800m, posting a mark of 2:17.22 in Auckland in 2022. He was also named a Paralympics NZ Harvey Norman Para Sport champion in 2022.
