Curtis McGrath OAM has served in the Australian Army as a combat engineer for 6 years where he served with honour in East Timor, Indonesia and Afghanistan. On the 23rd August 2012 Curtis was on a patrol where he stepped right on an improvised explosive device (IED) which detonated and took both his legs. Only 20min after the explosion, Curtis famously said that “you will see me in the Paralympics”.

Since losing his legs Curtis has not looked back 18 months after this fateful day Curtis was crowned World Champion at the 2014 Paracanoe World Championships in Moscow, Russia. This started his path to the Paralympics. In 2016, just over 4 years after losing his legs, Curtis true to his word, not only made it to the Paralympics but made history in becoming the first Australian to win a Paralympic Gold medal in the Paracanoe event at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

As well as his sport, Curtis is an ambassador for the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney, Aon Australia, Jaguar Land Rover, a global ambassador for Citi Bank and The Gold Coast Hospital Foundation.

He is passionate in telling people his story and how sport has been his vehicle for success and had such a positive effect on his rehabilitation and
life.