Liz Langdon began para shooting after watching the 2024 Paralympics. Photo / Supplied
Liz Langdon is already making her mark less than a year into shooting para sport.
Seeking a new challenge has driven Langdon’s rapid rise in the sport, where a casual joke about competing at the Paralympics might yet become a reality.
Determined to get back into sport after having a 4.75cm tumour removed from her spinal cord in her 20s, which left her a partial tetraplegic, Langdon began watching the 2024 Paralympics in Tokyo for inspiration.
Knowing running, jumping, swimming, catching and throwing were not options, she landed on shooting para sport and thought it looked exciting.
Nearly a year has passed since her journey began and Langdon recently won silver in the R5 10m Air Rifle Prone SH2 at her international debut in Brisbane.
Her journey has been challenging, but she does not let that stop her in life, which also includes being a business owner, wife and mum.
“You either spend your life crying, or you just get on with it and have fun,” Langdon said. “It’s a choice.
“I don’t see myself as different. I always feel like an ordinary person.
“I know I’ve got a disability, but I don’t feel it defines me. I just get on with it.”
Langdon was very sporty as a kid, doing everything from netball, badminton, squash, football and cricket to snow sports.
She would also take part in backyard shooting with an air rifle purchased in Los Angeles by her older brother while on holiday, with their parents’ permission, of course.
In her early 20s, she had a snowboarding accident and damaged her left wrist. Despite cortisone injections and other pain relief methods, nothing worked, and other symptoms began to emerge.
Those included numbness and pins and needles in her right hand, while accidents became common, like carrying a mug of coffee and dropping it without realising.
That led to a doctor’s visit, who referred her to a neurologist, and after numerous tests, it was discovered something was wrong in her neck.
Within a week, Langdon received the news that she had a tumour in her spinal cord.
“It was almost unbelievable,” said Langdon. “You hear about these things but never think it’ll happen to you - especially something so extreme, like a tumour.
“When I Googled symptoms earlier, I’d dismissed it as not possible. As it grew, it pushed the cord against the vertebrae, causing the symptoms.
“The only way to remove it was to cut into the spinal cord. As soon as you touch it, there’s always damage. I didn’t get the worst-case scenario, but almost.”
It was a high-risk surgery which lasted about 10 hours, but it was the only option as had the tumour continued to grow and block the spinal cord, her body would have completely shut down.
The biggest complication from the surgery was swelling. Straight after going under the knife, Langdon was paralysed from the chin down.
In the weeks that followed, Langdon had quite a rapid recovery, and she regained some movement, but as a partial tetraplegic, she to this day has limited movement on her left side and right arm, and poor balance.
“Most of my body has little or feeling or light touch sensation,” said Langdon. “I frequently burn or cut myself without noticing.
“If I can’t see my hands or feet I don’t know what they are doing or where they are because I can’t feel them, like getting something out of a bag or pocket.
“If there’s a strong wind, most people adjust automatically. I just blow over, because by the time I realise, it’s too late to correct.”
Langdon has not let these challenges define her, living life to the fullest, but now the excitement of shooting para sport has her aiming big.
She has been working alongside multi-time Paralympians Michael Johnson and Neelam O’Neill, the latter a Paralympian at the Parafed Auckland Shooting Club in Mt Eden.
Langdon said the experience reminded her of shooting as a teen, although aiming at small targets and the style of rifle are very different from her youth.
“I’m really chuffed with my progress. I started off okay, but I’ve surprised myself with how much I’ve improved in a short time,” said Langdon.
“I’m definitely not at Olympic level, but given how little I’ve been shooting, I’m pleased.
“When I first met Mike Johnson, he casually joked about going to the next Paralympics. I joked along, never thinking it would be possible.
“But now, if I got there, I’d be stoked. It’s a lot of hard work, and I know I need to improve.”
The event in Australia did not contribute towards any form of Paralympic qualification, so Langdon is aiming to compete in international events next year.
Langdon competes in the SH2 category which is for athletes who need a shooting stand to support the rifle’s weight due to upper limb impairment.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.