Scott first started kayaking when he was 16 but was very active in other paddling sports before that. Scott had aspirations of making it to the Olympics.
Everything changed for Scott when he received a tear to his left quadriceps from a knock in a game of rugby. The tear got infected with a flesh-eating bacteria and his leg had to be amputated in order to save his life. That same dream was altered slightly from Olympic dreams to Paralympic dreams and here Scott is today – a New Zealand Paralympian having represented his country at two Paralympic Games.
His dream came true as both Scott and the sport of Para canoe made a Paralympic debut in Rio 2016. Scott took to the water in Rio and produced outstanding results improving his world ranking to 8th. He was part of the New Zealand Paralympic Team who won a stunning 21 medals across 12 individual medallists in 2016 (9 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze). The Team finished first in the world per capita and 13th in the world overall (previous best: 16th).
At the 2018 World Championships in Portugal, Scott made a major impact; winning a Men’s 200m KL2 silver to climb the podium for the first time on the global stage. He continued to make advancements and in 2019 at the World Cup in Poznan, Poland he struck gold. He concluded a highly successful year by winning Men’s 200m KL2 bronze at the World Championships in Szeged, Hungary.
Competing at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Scott won his open Men’s 200m KL2 heat and was awarded automatic qualification to the final. In a gripping final race, Scott came home in fourth place by the narrowest of margins. Scott showcased his wide skillset by also reaching the final of the Men’s 200m VL3, where he finished 8th.
In 2022, Scott was selected to the team for the 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint and Para Canoe World Championships in Canada, where he won bronze in the KL2 200m in a time of 44.21.
The 2023 World Championships in Germany saw Scott achieve an A final spot, finishing fourth in his KL2 200m event and securing a slot for NZ at the Paralympics.
Scott was named a Harvey Norman Para Sport Champion in 2024.
