Keenan Alexander made his Wheel Blacks debut last year. Photo / Paralympics NZ
Determined to walk again after a serious spinal injury playing First XV rugby for Thames High School, Keenan Alexander declined the chance to try wheelchair rugby.
Seven years later, he finally gave the sport a go and hasn’t looked back since, rising quickly from the development squad to earn his first international cap with the Wheel Blacks.
Now, he has his sights set on helping New Zealand qualify for a fifth Paralympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
“I was dead set on walking again,” Alexander said. “Disabled sport wasn’t even on my radar.
“But I fell in love with it. I’ve got an international cap now, which I’m proud of, but the Paralympics is the pinnacle.
“That’s the equivalent of the Rugby World Cup for us. My goal is to make it to LA and to do everything I can for the team to qualify and earn my spot.”
Growing up in Thames, Alexander was never one for the indoors. He was heavily involved in rugby, adventure racing and athletics, while hunting and fishing around the Coromandel Peninsula filled his spare time.
Standing at 1.96m, as a teenager, the possibilities seemed endless. While his ambition of becoming an All Black was high, playing for the local Thames Valley Swamp Foxes in the Heartland Championship was more realistic.
But his life changed in his final year of high school in August 2016 during a semifinal clash against Paeroa College.
“That day will never leave me,” Alexander said. “I came off the back of a ruck, someone went to hold me up over the tryline but rotated wrong and I went headfirst into their back and then into the ground, snapping my neck.
“I lay there until the ambulance arrived, then got airlifted from the Thames rugby grounds to Middlemore.”
The result was a dislocated C6 and C7 vertebrae. After undergoing surgery, he developed pneumonia and suffered a collapsed lung.
He spent the rest of the year at the Auckland Spinal Rehabilitation Unit, where he saw the Wheel Blacks team train. Future teammate Hayden Barton-Cootes encouraged him to give it a try, but Alexander declined before being discharged.
“Rehab was all about regaining as much independence as possible, learning a whole new way of life,” Alexander said.
“You don’t realise how much you take for granted until you can’t do it anymore, brushing your teeth, dressing yourself, getting out of bed, getting out the front door. It’s like learning everything all over again.”
There were many hurdles to overcome but he eventually enrolled in a Bachelor of Business degree at the University of Waikato.
Shortly after, he received a message from New Zealand Wheelchair Rugby development officer Rob Hewitt and he was soon back in sport, working his way through the ranks.
He made his international debut in a tournament in Adelaide last year and most recently featured on a trip to Japan.
“I had spare time outside of study, so I gave it a go and the rest is history. From the development squad to high performance, and now the Wheel Blacks, representing New Zealand.
“I train five to six days a week between the Waikato squad, the Wheel Blacks high performance programme, and my own gym work. Once a month, the national team has a weekend camp in Auckland.”
Alongside his sporting commitments, the now 26-year-old works fulltime as an agribusiness partner with the Bank of New Zealand.
“It can be hell some weeks but that’s the commitment needed.”
While there are day-to-day challenges, Alexander doesn’t let them hold him back.
“It’s different to what it was but I don’t let it stop me. I’ve worked to get back to the things I love most.
“I’ve had my boat modified so I can get out fishing easily, and I’ve done a bit of hunting back home on the family block, mostly possums and rabbits.
“I’m happy with where I am, but if I stopped here and went no further, I wouldn’t be content. I’m always striving for more, whether in sport, work, or life.”
Alexander was also part of the most recent ParaSport Collective, a programme designed to help athletes and coaches connect with each other while providing wider support.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.