Rocky road to Games glory

24 March 2022

Paralympian cyclist Alistair Donohoe says his faith has changed his perspective on life and sport.

Paralympian Alistair Donohoe reaches out to others facing life’s challenges 

Paralympic cyclist Alistair Donohoe is only 26 but has already lived through some extreme highs and lows. At 11 he lost his father, at 15 he nearly lost his right arm, and as an adult he has twice crashed out of gold-medal contention at Paralympic Games. Yet he has also broken records, won a range of international championships, and picked up medals at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020*. Alistair recently shared his story at God’s Sports Arena [a Salvos church in Queensland], saying that his faith has kept him on the path of hope and motivates him to focus on supporting others. 

On a rain-drenched road in Tokyo, Paralympian Alistair Donohue was bloodied and in pain after a fall when a competitor in the 92km men’s road race pushed in front of him and slipped. Alistair heroically struggled back onto his bike, fell again, before unsuccessfully trying to rejoin the race leaders. He finished fifth. 

Despite podium finishes in two other events – bronze in the 32km men’s C5 time trial and silver in the 400m men’s C5 individual pursuit – it was a bitter disappointment after four years of intense training and planning. And it was not the first time. 

During Rio 2016, he was seconds away from a gold medal in the 84km men’s C4-5 road race when, ironically, the same competitor veered in front of him, and they both crashed. Alistair struggled to his feet and crossed the line on foot, but as he didn’t have his bike with him, a technicality denied him the win. By the time he had recovered his bike and recrossed, he was out of medal contention. However, he won two silver medals in his other C5 events during those games (4000m individual pursuit and men’s time trial). 

HIGHS AND LOWS 

Salvo Bill Hunter, who served as Australian Paralympic team chaplain in Tokyo, recently invited Alistair to speak at God’s Sports Arena (GSA) church in Brisbane. 

“Winning a silver and bronze [in Tokyo] was one of my highs and lows,” Alistair shared at GSA. “Of course, I wanted gold, but at the same time, I was glad to get on the podium. The logical part of me says that it was a high, and the emotional part of me was still disappointed.” 

UNIQUE CHILDHOOD

Alistair was born in the Northern Territory town of Nhulunbuy, as the youngest of five children. Part of a close-knit family, his father worked in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

“I lived there until I was five, and I remember going to the beach, crabbing, fishing, that sort of thing,” he says. 

The family then moved to Darwin, and Alistair followed in the footsteps of his sporty older siblings, participating in Little Athletics, rugby league, competitive swimming, and triathlon. “Through triathlon, I found cycling and really fell in love with that,” he said.

Just before Christmas 2006, Alistair tragically lost his dad. This deeply impacted the whole family.

In his mid-teens, the keen sportsman faced another challenge, but one that ultimately opened the doors to the Paralympics. While swimming at a local creek, his arm became tangled as he jumped off a favourite rope swing. This resulted in severing 90 per cent of his tricep and 80 per cent of his bicep.

FAITH PERSPECTIVE

As a young child, Alistair attended church with his family but said he stopped going and didn’t give much thought to faith in his teens and early 20s.

“When I moved to Melbourne, I had two sisters living there, and they were going to the local church,” Alistair shares. “That became a social interaction for me. I really enjoyed it, but I hadn’t put any thought into my faith. I went to Rio not thinking about it too much.” 

One of Alistair’s brothers had become a church pastor by this stage. He gave Alistair a book to read – Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis – and asked Alistair what he believed about God. 

“I had a bit of a ‘penny drop’ moment at 22 or 23,” Alistair says. “I thought I could ignore this and go one way or acknowledge it. The realisation that God was real was very clear. To me, it wasn’t a decision; it was a realisation – and that is the only way I can describe it.” 

Alistair told the GSA crowd that his faith had softened his perspective on life and sport. “When I didn’t have a faith pathway, my sport was everything and meant everything.” 

Alistair says he is increasingly committed to supporting others and believes that desire has grown as his faith journey has developed. 

MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES 

“I have also struggled with mental health issues,” he says. “That is something I [now] look to support others in. On the way to Rio, my weight was something I never got perfect and got obsessed with … I never took my foot off the gas for two years, which developed into an eating disorder. There was a flow-on with depression and anxiety.” 

Alistair began seeing a counsellor and now works to engage with and support others who may be struggling. He says, “I look at juniors or teammates, or anyone really, and look to have the discussions with them about their challenges, including mental health. 

“I like to encourage these chats and look at how I can use my position in sport, not to just further myself, but find more ways I can support people.” 

In the leadup to Easter next month, Alistair says, “When I think about Easter, it is with an understanding of what Jesus and God did for us. It is about selfless sacrifice. 

“Sport can be quite self-focused and so that sacrifice encourages me to care about others and live my faith as much as I can. I find it hard to talk a lot about my faith because it is very personal to me, but more than anything, I want to authentically live it out.” 

* The Tokyo Paralympics took place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.