Adding to an already impressive sporting career, Pakuranga College student Gabby Wright has been named runner-up of the athlete with a disability category at the 2022 college sports awards.
Gabby competes strongly in the T54 category, which consists of track and field events, her favourite being 400m and 800m races.
The year 13 student was named winner of the category last year but says that she is just happy to be recognised.
“I wasn’t going into this year expecting to win, so when I was named runner-up I was really happy,” Gabby says.
Gabby was just 12-years-old when she contracted a cold. When her immune system overreacted, it caused an inflammation of her spinal cord leading to a disorder called Transverse Myelitis (TM).
The condition led to her being paralysed from the waist down.
Gabby has since taken on wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis. A year ago she found her ultimate passion in wheelchair racing for North Harbour Bay Athletics.
Aspiring to be a Silver Fern netballer, Gabby was heartbroken when she found out that she would never play again, which is when she decided to train as an umpire.
She is believed to be New Zealand’s first – and possibly, worldwide – wheelchair umpire.
“When I first got in a wheelchair, I was very disappointed that I couldn’t play netball again but I turned that around into ways that I could still involve myself and that was through umpiring,” Gabby says.
Wright competed for Pakuranga College for the last time on December 12 weekend, where she set some blistering personal bests, knocking 14 seconds off her 800m time and 10 seconds off her 400m event.
She also took away three bronze medals and a silver.
“I’ve really enjoyed doing athletics and it has been a real honour competing for and representing Pakuranga College”
Gabby has a busy sporting schedule in 2023, travelling to Australia in January for the Wheelchair racing competition before competing again in Australia for the national competition.
“My overall goal is to ultimately get to the Los Angeles Paralympics in 2028,” Gabby says.
Gabby was a recipient of the ‘find your greatness’ scholarship at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT), which recognises a student’s academic achievement and contribution to a school and community.
On top of her sporting commitments, Gabby will be studying architecture in 2023 with the hope of making the world more accommodating to those with disabilities.
“Part of the reason that I wanted to go into architecture is because I think that accessibility is a real issue so I want to bring a new concept and idea to the table which hasn’t been thought of before,” she says.
Despite setbacks and adversity, Gabby upholds a cheery outlook on life.
“I’ve always said that in every situation there’s always a positive and you just have to find them,” she says.
