The Taranaki local has seen first-hand the positive impact that sport and recreation can have, and he is passionate about pursuing opportunities to break down those barriers for other young people with disabilities to become active.
Anton has attended the Halberg Games three times, and in 2018 won the Sir Murray Halberg Cup for Most Outstanding Athlete.
In 2019, he became a Halberg Youth Council member – a group of 11 young leaders from around the country representing the voices of physically disabled young people.
The BDO Around the Mountain Challenge is a 148km cycle challenge through 11 Taranaki townships and has become one of New Zealand's premier road cycle events with over 1000 competitive and recreational cyclists participating.
"It was an exhilarating feeling to have completed the challenge. I was overwhelmed by feelings. It was a big challenge and to complete it was amazing," says Anton.
Anton completed the challenge with his father, Marc Besseling. He says they did quite a lot of training for the event.
"The training paid off well as we completed the whole cycle."
Anton completed the race in five hours and 35 minutes.
"I was excited to share the moment with my dad."
Anton has set up an Every day Hero page to raise funds. He has currently raised $700.
"It's a decent amount of money and I'm happy it will have a positive impact on someone's life."
■ To donate, visit: give.everydayhero.com/nz/Antonscyclechallengeforhalberg