Cameron Leslie - World Record Holder, Paralympian, Halberg Award Winner & Dad

Cameron Leslie is one of New Zealand’s most successful sporting talents and the first para athlete we’ve had on the podcast.

He was born a quadruple amputee with legs to the knee on both sides, his arm is missing four fingers on the right and he has half a forearm on his left side.

He’s a world-record holder who has won gold medals at three Paralympics in swimming, the co-captain of the New Zealand Wheel Blacks, and a Halberg Award winner.

He’s also a father of three kids under five, runs a farm up North, has a fulltime job at Swimming NZ and has an inspirational outlook on life – though he has mixed feelings about that description!

Cameron is currently in his final stages of preparation for Paris 2024 and this episode looks to challenge perceptions around disability. From a place of curiosity - and some times ignorance – we discussed:

• The reality of life and parenting with a disability

• Common misconceptions he faces

• How swimming changed his life

• How classifications work at the Paralympics

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This episode definitely gave us something to talk about!

Best Laugh: We fact check a bunch of the best Wheel Blacks stories from his years with the team including shark attacks, a sexy cat, and some that Cameron wouldn’t go into!

Best Insight: Hearing first-hand about life with quadruple limb deficiency and the assumptions and frustrations that can cause and his mixed feelings about the term “inspirational”

Biggest Surprise: The intricacies and levels of classification for para-sport!

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