Double amputee Shona Muckert competes with able-bodied canoeing team at national sprints

Double amputee Shona Muckert competes with able-bodied canoeing team at national sprints

Shona Muckert relies on a wheelchair for many routine activities, but her disability does not hold her back when it comes to competitive canoeing.

Key points:
Bilateral amputee Shona Muckert competed in the outrigging National Sprints on Friday
Her team won a bronze medal in their division at the event
She was the only woman with a disability to compete
The bilateral amputee made a triumphant return to her beloved sport on Friday when she won a bronze medal with her team in the outrigging National Sprint Championships at Lake Kawana on the Sunshine Coast.

All of Muckert's teammates from the Mooloolaba Outrigger Canoe Club are able-bodied.

"It feels really nice for me to know that I can compete in my age group, as well as competing as a person with a disability," she said.

"You always feel like you're just another club member."

'A really challenging time'
It had been four years since the Sunshine Coast resident was able to participate in the event.

In 2020, her life-changing osseointegration implant limbs became infected and she had to travel to Sydney for surgery.

"There was a lot of talk about them removing the implants, which would have completely changed the course of my life," Muckert said.

Pandemic travel restrictions then stopped her returning to Queensland.

"I actually got stuck down there for six weeks," Muckert said.

Afterwards, she took an extended break from the sport.

"It was a really challenging time," Muckert said.

"I just wasn't emotionally or mentally ready to get back in the water."

Life turned upside down
Muckert was a competitive swimmer as a child and always loved the water.

When she was 25, a car accident changed her life forever.

She was driving home one night when her four-wheel drive flipped and rolled four times

"I was pinned underneath the car on a lonely road for about 12 hours," she said.

She was found the next morning and flown to hospital, where both of her legs were amputated.

For a decade, Muckert was confined to a wheelchair.

"I used to climb into the boot of my car, and pull the wheelchair in behind me and then climb through to the driver's seat," she said.

"You kind of just adapt."

After reading about osseointegration implant surgery, she was determined to have the operation.

Her local community quickly helped Muckert raise the $45,000 she needed.

"There was just no way that I was going to be able to fund that on my own," she said.

"So I'm really, really fortunate."

The implants helped her to walk again and regain her independence, but spending time on her legs was still strenuous.

"It takes 250 per cent of my energy to walk."
The most beautiful thing'
Outrigging has been a special outlet for Muckert because it relied on core and upper-body strength.

"The paddling kind of works for me," she said.

"I just use the right leg in the canoe. I don't actually use my left leg.

"I'm actually using my core strength and leaning forward."

Muckert said she loved the feeling of being on the water.

"We're on the water at five o'clock [and] you're seeing the sun come up in the morning, and it's just the most beautiful thing.

"It starts your day off really well."