Mary Fisher
Mary Fisher is more than a swimmer who won two Gold Medals at the Paralympic Games. She is using her platform to make real change in her community and for the whole of New Zealand. Mary was born with the condition, Aniridia, in which she has no coloured iris surrounding her pupil. She only had 10% sight growing up but that didn’t stop her from competing in all sports, in particular Football. After losing all her sight when she became a teenager, it was the swimming pool that she felt was the equalizer, where she could compete evenly with the kids her age. Loving the feeling of being held by the water, this hobbie quickly turned into a full-time activity for Fisher.
Early on, Mary felt that there were a number of coaches that underestimated her ability or had the fear of coaching a disabled athlete. It wasn’t until Mary moved to Wellington city and reached out to Capital Swim Club coach Luke Clark that things started to change. Finally she had a genuine response from a coach who was willing to try to get the most out of Mary. Training up to fourteen sessions a week, needing a solid support system to get back and forth to her trainings, Mary became a great problem solver and was improving everyday.
Going over to the London Paralympic Games, Fisher had no expectations and seen as the underdog in her classification. Two Silver medals and a Bronze medal already under her belt, Mary went into the last race of the Games, the 200m Medley, in front of a packed out stadium. Mary swam the race of her life, breaking the World Record, capping off an impressive Paralympic campaign and knowing her life was going to be very different when she got back to New Zealand. In the years that followed, she became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, won the Halberg for the Disabled Sportsperson of the Year and the Supreme Award at the Attitude Awards, which celebrates people with disabilities achievements in all different industries. Mary also dominated the 2013 and 2015 IPC World Swimming Championships, qualifying her for the Rio Paralympic Games.
Mary’s preparation for the Rio Games was a lot different, a change of coach, a change of city and higher expectations from herself and the public. No longer the underdog, Mary started the Games with a high, winning the Gold Medal in the 100m Backstroke, breaking the World Record. But unfortunately, missed out in the medals in her other races, leaving her with a deflating feeling and mixed emotions.
Mary decided to retire from full-time swimming in 2018, feeling like it was the right time. Since then, Mary’s real success has been using her platform to affect real change in her community. From volunteering at the Blind Low Vision foundation, Access Matters, on the Paralympic Board, Sport NZ Woman & Girls summits and advocating for cleaner New Zealand waterways.
In this episode, Mary discusses her journey with host Logan van Beek. From her Childhood/Growing up with the condition Aniridia; Preparing for 2012 Para-Olympics - Training full-time, close relationships with coach Luke Clark; The feeling of winning the Gold Medal at the Para-Olympic Games Take the Risk… Take the Risk; How life changed after London - Becoming MNZM, Winning the Halberg Award & Supreme Award at the Attitude awards; Dealing with Expectations & Mixed Feelings after Rio; Mary's real success is what she has been doing outside of the pool; Mary passion to help protect the natural fresh waterways in New Zealand; Advice for a young disabled athlete wanting to go to the Para-Olympics; Mary's Six Tips to How & When to Help a Blind Person.
Chapters
- Childhood/Growing up with the condition Aniridia (4:25)
- Joining the Upper Hutt Swim club at 9 years old – ‘Swimming was the equaliser’ (11:48)
- First International swimming competition in Australia 2007 – a turning point in Mary’s life (16:27)
- Preparing for 2012 Para-Olympics - Training full-time, close relationships with coach Luke Clark (20:51)
- "Mary there is no limit to how fast you are allowed to go" - 2012 Para-Olympic experience (30:44)
- Experience leading into the London Paralympics – Fully committed! (33:04)
- The feeling of winning the Gold Medal at the Para-Olympic Games
“Take the Risk… Take the Risk” (38:05)
- Explaining the Paralympic Classifcations (55:12)
- How life changed after London - Becoming MNZM, Winning the Halberg Award & Supreme Award at the Attitude awards (1:02:37)
- Change of Coach, Change of City - preparation leading into the Rio Para-Olympics (1:07:38)
- Dealing with Expectations & Mixed Feelings after Rio (1:16:03)
- Retiring from competitive Swimming in 2018 (1:24:58)
- Mary's real success is what she has been doing outside of the pool - volunteering, advocating for change, exploring & pushing the boundaries of her confidence (1:35:28)
- Mary passion to help protect the natural fresh waterways in New Zealand (1:42:29)
- Advice for a young disabled athlete wanting to go to the Para-Olympics (1:49:47)
- Mary's Six Tips for How & When to Help a Blind Person (1:52:57)