Tauranga cyclist Fraser Sharp chases his 2020 Paralympic dream

Tauranga cyclist Fraser Sharp is fundraising to achieve his dream of competing at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. Photo /Supplied

Fraser Sharp's motto in life is "anything is possible" and it is what drives him as he chases his dream to wear the silver fern at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

But first, the 42-year-old from Tauranga has to qualify at Para ICU World Cup events in Europe in May. To get there, he has launched a Givealittle page to help raise the $8000 needed to cover his expenses.

Sharp's journey back from the brink after a major accident in 1993, when he was hit by a car while training on his bike, has been a long one.

His promising career as a nationally ranked cyclist was wiped out in an instant.

After waking from a coma 30 days later, and despite his multiple fractures and irreparable front lobe brain damage, Sharp's fighting spirit kicked in.

He had to learn to walk and talk again but his love of the sport and desire to represent his country drove him to get back on his bike as soon as he could.

"I was determined to prove the doctors wrong and get my life back on track," he said.

Sharp went on to complete Ironman New Zealand twice, the Nice Ironman in France plus the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman.

In 2014, while preparing for the Nice Ironman, someone suggested he should compete at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and he has never looked back.

Sharp went on to qualify as part of a five-strong New Zealand team at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland.

Selected at short notice for Rio, he finished a credible but "disappointing" eighth in the Men's Time Trial C3 and just outside the top 10 in the Men's Road Race C3.

Sharp's list of achievements on the national and international stage also includes several first places and top 10 placings.

In 2017, with support from the Tauranga community, he competed in Europe in three UCI Para World Cups, scoring bronze in Italy and silver in Belgium in the individual time trials.

Last year he suffered a bout of major depression and stopped cycling for a while.

But Sharp has reset his sights on Tokyo and needs to achieve top-four finishes at World Cup events in Italy and Belgium in May to qualify for Paralympics New Zealand funding.

That would enable him to compete at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in the Netherlands in September, the next stage in his dream of Paralympic success.

Sharp said the Tauranga community had been "tremendously supportive" of his dream and he was grateful.

"Winning the ultimate prize is every athlete's dream and this means the world to me."

- Donations can be made to Sharp's Givealittle page.