For just one week, world champion Maia Marshall-Amai is home in Auckland before chasing another dream.
The Ngāti Awa and Tūhoe athlete has become the first Māori adaptive competitor to win a HYROX World Championship, claiming the title in Sweden after entering the event just three weeks before the start.
“It still doesn’t really feel real to me.I’m proud,” said Marshall-Amai.
Born and raised in Whakatāne, Marshall-Amai says her heart remains firmly connected to her hometown and her sporting whānau. She comes from one of the Bay of Plenty’s well-known sporting families, with NRL great Benji Marshall among her cousins.
Marshall-Amai uses a wheelchair after suffering severe burns as a toddler and later developing a spinal infection that left her paralysed. She has also overcome multiple major surgeries, including the removal of most of her pancreas after a tumour and the amputation of her right leg. Despite those setbacks, she continues to compete at the highest level.
“I almost felt like I was going to die… but I just kept going,” she said of her winning performance.
Her best friend, Letitia Butler, said there was never any doubt about Maia’s ambition.
“She wasn’t going there to muck around. Her goal was to beat her personal best. I said, ‘What’s your real goal?’ She said, ‘In my heart, I’m going for number one.'”
Marshall-Amai is now back in training as one of the veteran members of the Wheel Blacks ahead of the Wheelchair Rugby World Championships in Brazil.
“We’ve just got a week off, then rugby camp, then a tournament, and then Brazil for the World Championships,” she said.
But while she has reached the top of the world, Butler says the next challenge is ensuring Maia can keep competing internationally. Flights to Spain for her next HYROX campaign, a specialist racing chair worth around $15,000 and adaptive equipment remain significant costs.
“Imagine what that’s going to do for her confidence. We need to get her there,” Butler said.
Marshall-Amai has now launched a Givealittle campaign with a goal of raising $50,000 to help New Zealand’s number one adaptive HYROX athlete defend her world championship title. The funding will go towards international travel, a specialised HYROX racing chair and adaptive equipment, ensuring one of the country’s top para athletes can continue competing on the world stage.
Back Maiz: NZ’s World Champion Adaptive HYROX Athlete – Givealittle
Supporters are now hoping businesses and sponsors will get behind ind ividual athletes like Marshall-Amai, ensuring world champions are not held back by the cost of representing New Zealand. For Maia, winning a world title is only the beginning.