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Every day is a new chance to choose who you are, says 23-year-old wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley. Fearnley was born paralysed from the waist down, but it has not stopped him from pursuing his goals.

The Australian  - who won golds in the 5,000 metres and marathon at the Athens Paralympic Games in September - shared his aspirations and experiences with students at Po Leung Kuk Tang Yuk Tien College last week.

During his three-day visit to the school, Fearnley not only gave talks, but also raced and played basketball with the students.

He said he fell in love with  racing 10 years ago.

'Every day I've spent racing has been just incredible. I have no regrets and I enjoy everything that I do. I look forward to another 10 years of racing,' he said.

'I compete in the marathon because it's the toughest event in the Paralympics. [It] constantly puts your body under stress. I find it incredibly challenging.'

And this year's Paralympics marathon proved  Fearnley is ready for the most daunting of challenges. In the last five kilometres, he had a broken tyre. Despite this, he managed to  cross the finish line four-and-a-half minutes faster than the second athlete.

'I was delirious by the end of it . . . My head wasn't functioning. My body was hurting more than it should and, towards the end of the race, I  wasn't enjoying myself anymore,' he said.

'But I did enjoy receiving the medal,' he added with a smile.

The students were impressed by Fearnley's positive attitude  and motivation. They  asked him many questions - such as his impression of Hong Kong youth, and whether he cried when  receiving his medals.

But the most  exciting moment came when Fearnley showed off his gold medal. Students scrambled from their chairs to catch a glimpse of it.

'I told him that the medal was very heavy and he joked by saying 'of course, it's real gold',' fifth former Matthew Chiu Cheuk-nam said. 'He doesn't treat himself as disabled. He's confident and funny.'

Form three student Melanie Hung Man-ting said: 'I think he's brave - he talks about his experiences and troubles happily. We should learn from him.'

Another fifth former Johnson Lee Chun-ming said he was impressed by Fearnley's attitude of  living in the present.

'I will sit my HKCEE soon and what he said inspired me to  keep looking forward. It's not important that I didn't do well in previous exams, as long as I perform better now,' he said.

When it comes to   future goals, Fearnley is quite sure what's on his agenda:  Training for tomorrow. And tomorrow's goal is  training for the next day.

As a final year student majoring in human movement and education, Fearnley said he would become a teacher in a year's time. But the subjects he will teach cover things he is unable to do.

'I can't run, but I have to teach running; I can't hurdle, but I have to teach hurdling. It's something that I need to do and it's something I enjoy,' he said.



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