Date
Achievement
Todd Philpott
Multi World Champion in Weightlifting and Handcycling
Caught behind a bus, he prepared to take a tight bend. Looking back, Philpott thinks the taxi that hit him had strayed onto his side of the road, but speculative details are irrelevant these days.
What is clear is that the oncoming cab knocked Philpott from his bike and forced him into the side of the bus he was about to overtake. His back took the blow, bones were fractured, his head was injured. He doesn't mention his helmet tearing his ears but does describe the punctured femoral artery that messed up the road.
He blacked out. When he awoke, days later, life was different. Very different.
Then aged 34, Philpott had been a body-builder, weight lifter and personal trainer to the stars before taking that journey down York Road. A talented child athlete, he won the 1982 Mr Australasia body-building title. Two years later, he was named Mr Sydney and Mr NSW. He moved to the NSW north coast to manage two gymnasiums.
In 1990, he left for Los Angeles, the home of body-building, and lifted weights with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno, TV's Incredible Hulk.
Philpott began to lift gold, literally. Living in beachside Santa Monica, he was hired as a personal trainer at the legendary Gold's Gym and then Universal Studios. A little homesick, he was lured back to Australia to work at renowned Sydney fitness centre City Gym, but California still called.
He bought a ticket to return to LA. Before he could use it, the taxi, and the bus, hit.
"The surgeon told me he'd been working hard to save my leg but the priest was working even harder," Philpott says, laughing blackly. "They say they gave me the last rites seven times. I kept going upstairs but kept coming back down again."
The surgeon had other news for Philpott. His right leg, jammed between the bike and bus, would have to come off. There was no debate; the choice was simple — life or leg. The surgeon went to work. For many people, the story might end there and it would still be an epic tale. But for Todd Philpott, the journey had not reached the starting line.
Todd was asked to run the New York marathon. "Have a look at me," Philpott pleaded. "I'm biometrically opposed to even run for the phone. I come from a weight-lifting background and I have a leg missing. If there was an event for not running long distance, I'd be world champion."
In the marathon, he was so far off the pace that police held up crime scene tape as an improvised finish line when he staggered into Central Park late that night. "It nearly killed me," Philpott recalls. "It took 15 hours. I busted my shoulder. What was I thinking? Hadn't I been through enough pain?"
Battered, Philpott returned to Australia, vowing never to run again, but his competitive spirit got the better of him. He discovered the handcycle, a bicycle used by athletes without functioning lower limbs. Years of upper-body work paid off.
Philpott returned to New York 12 months later. With his handcycle, he finished third. The following year, he won the Havana Marathon. The 2004 Athens Paralympics loomed before funding for handcyclists was cut. Philpott read in the newspapers that the Athens gold-medal winner was minutes slower than his best time.
Philpott lined up at the New York Marathon's Staten Island start line. The starting pistol's crack launched him towards Brooklyn behind a team from the Netherlands. Handcycling is not a polite sport. Philpott and the Dutchmen sledged each other. "Please don't tell me that I have come all the way from Australia and you're not even going to be competitive with me," Philpott roared.
Philpott finished the course in 77 minutes — 10 minutes ahead of his nearest (Dutch) rival. He took nine minutes off the world record.
Todds sporting journey continues.
Achievements
View allJanuary 2018
Played competitive Rugby as an amputee
November 1957
Paralympian and world record holder
November 1957
Bench pressed 500 pounds
November 1957
Completed the New York Marathon 5-times (winning the handcycle category)
Career
View all
South Sydney Rabbitohs Physical Disability (Rugby League)2018 - current
AustraliaMedia
View all
Bowral Ride
The definition of the South Sydney spirit
Rugby League
Handbike Rider
More aboutTodd Philpott
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| Age | 68 |
| Gender | Male |
| Sports | Rugby League, Rugby Para Wheelchair, Para Cycling |
| Position | (6) Five Eight |
