Anything is possible

Photo: AMELIA JACOBSEN

BLIND AMBITION: Rob Matthews has won numerous medals while competing in running events around the world. His autobiography, Running Blind, hit the bookstores recently.

Rob Matthews knows all about life's struggles.

After inheriting the eye condition retinitis pigmentosa from his father, his eyesight deteriorated through his youth, leaving him blind by the age of 20.

But the onset of darkness only made Mr Matthews more determined to do great things with his life.

He started running at 20, and competed for Britain in the 1984 Paralympics in New York.

The UK resident went on to set world records in various distances, and won a silver medal in the 5000 metres at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics.

In 1987 he was awarded an MBE by the Queen for services to sport, and in 2004 was inducted into the BBC Hall of Fame.

But it seems Mr Matthews had a competitive streak long before he began racing on some of the world's most illustrious running tracks.

While still a schoolboy he tried to keep up with his able-sighted peers.

"I was walking home from school one day and I got it into my head that I would try and keep up with this bloke on the other side of the road," he says.

"The next thing I knew I was bouncing off a lamppost."

He says that before discovering sports he lived from day to day, and did not really enjoy life.

He was shy, withdrawn and lacked confidence.

"I was frustrated. I wasn't happy in my job and there wasn't a lot going on in my life.

"But running enabled me to express myself and realise I was as good as anybody else."

The inspirational path he has forged is the subject of his autobiography - Running Blind.

The book charts his life, from when he first began to lose his sight - and how he came to terms with his disability - through to the death of his first wife six years ago because of a blockage in her brain.

His running achievements, of course, are another major theme of the book.

"There are also some amusing anecdotes."

Running Blind also covers more recent developments in his life, such as meeting and marrying Auckland interior designer Sarah Kerr.

"Eighteen months from the day I met her I emigrated to New Zealand, got a house, and then our son Thomas was born."

Thomas is now two, and although he faces a chance of inheriting his father's condition, Mr Matthews is upbeat about Thomas' prospects.

"There is a 50-50 chance as to whether he inherited RP, but he seems to see in the dark and we don't think he has it."

Now living in Orakei, he says the birth of Thomas has been his greatest achievement to date.

"He's made such a huge difference to my life and the way I look at things.

"I've got much more empathy and he's such a happy little chap."

These days Mr Matthews works from his home as a sports massage therapist, and also does the rounds as a motivational speaker.

His main piece of advice to people facing difficulties in their own lives is to not back down.

"One of the things that motivated me was people telling me I wouldn't be able to do something because I was blind.

"There's really nothing preventing you from doing whatever you want to do - I know it sounds cliched - but anything is possible."

He has recently taken up competitive cycling and is currently training with his cycling partner Carlos Nicholls, from Glendowie.

He posted a time at the National Cycling Championships in Nelson last week which places him third in the world, and is looking for sponsorship for a new tandem bike he hopes will give him the winning edge.

If he was not concentrating on cycling, he would be training for a six-day running race through the Sahara Desert in Morocco.

"But that will have to wait."

He hopes to don the Silver Fern and compete for New Zealand for the first time, on his bike, at the 2012 Paralympics in London.

- Mr Matthews' book Running Blind is available at Paper Plus, Dymocks and Whitcoulls.