Google “inspirational” and Matthew Levy’s photo might just pop up.
The word challenge is used so much these days, I hesitate to include it. But the difficulties most of us face in our daily lives pale into insignificance alongside the myriad physical and emotional hurdles Matt has been dealt in his 31 years. But overcome them he does and there’s a lesson for all of us in how he goes about it.
Matthew has cerebral palsy. He was born 15 weeks premature and had his first operation two days later. He is legally blind and has endured around 50 more operations – on his heart, lungs, brain and ears.
Does he feel sorry for himself? No.
He holds an Order of Australia, swims three hours a day, six days a week and has an 18-year-history representing his country in the sport he loves. He was recently awarded Australia's Paralympic Swimmer Athlete of the year, and appointed to the Commonwealth Games Athlete Advisory Committee. He has held four world records.
Extraordinary? Yes.
And equally extraordinary is the matter-of-fact way he describes his accomplishments. I assume he must possess the confidence and single-minded tenacity requisite in so successful an athlete, yet he is neither arrogant nor self-absorbed, but warm, friendly, interested.
Matthew may bear the physical legacy of his early start and many surgeries, but his mindset is one to be envied. He recognises the adversity he faced, but instead of focusing on his limitations, sees only his own potential.
Matt began swimming for health reasons and got really serious at 12 when Sydney hosted the 2000 Paralympic Games.
Since then he's competed in four Paralympic games: Athens, Beijing, London, and Rio di Janeiro. He’s just returned from the Japan Open, testing the water ahead of the 2020 Paralympics, and found it to his liking, bringing home five medals: four gold, one silver.
Earlier, the Pan Pacific Championships earned him a more than respectable haul of five gold medals, a silver and two personal bests.
His swimming career has seen him presented with seven Paralympic medals, 12 from the World Championships and one gold from the Commonwealth Games.
One of the biggest challenges, he says, is holding down a day job that accommodates his hefty training schedule and frequent travel.
He’s grateful for the flexibility of his employer, Westpac, where he’s worked in business analysis for more than eight years.
That flexibility, he says, has allowed him to chase his dream.
Work and training provide a good balance in his life too, where one can provide a welcome escape from the other on a bad day.
Matt’s website lists his heroes as his parents. They have been a huge support, he says, getting him to training in the early days and cheering him on at events.
Family and friends, along with his fellow squad members, have been a major contributor to his success – always been there for him and always stuck by him.
“Positive people, people that you trust to be able to get you to that starting line.”
His philosophy is simple. “There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, and there’s always someone worse off than you.”
He tries to live and compete as the best version of himself that he can be, and sees everything as a learning opportunity – from his own experience, or from other people on a daily basis.
“I can only train to the best of my ability to do personal bests, I can’t determine what my competition’s going to do. It’s the same in life, you can only plan for what you see in front of you, you can’t really plan for what’s going to happen.
“There’s no point doing something the same way day in, day out, you always have to try and reinvent yourself or you’re always going to get the same result.
“And it gets boring.”
"I compete in swimming to show myself that I can achieve whatever I want, not what I am limited by."
– Matthew Levy
22