Cooper Blackwood

DoD Warrior Games 2024 Team Australia Competitor

ADF service: I joined the Royal Australian Navy in May 2018 as a Boatswain’s Mate, which ensures the smooth day-to-day security, safety, maintenance and operations of ships. I deployed as part of the Indo-Pacific Endeavour in 2019. I am currently posted to HMAS Kuttabul in Port Services. I will be medically discharging in May 2024.

Age: 26

Hometown: Rockhampton, Queensland

Current town: Eastgardens, Sydney, New South Wales

Competing in: Athletics, indoor rowing, swimming, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby

What is the nature of your injury or illness? I dived into a pool, hit my head on the bottom and instantly fractured and dislocated my C5-C6 vertebra, immediately paralysing myself from my chest down, including my hands and part of my arms. This resulted in a bad spinal cord injury and becoming an incomplete quadriplegic.

Sport background: I grew up playing many sports including touch football, soccer, futsal and golf, but my main sport was swimming where I competed at a national level.  Since competing at Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023, I play wheelchair rugby once a week.

My greatest moment was receiving a bronze medal at Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 in wheelchair rugby. I loved being part of such a great team of different individuals from different walks of life, who all came together as a team. Sharing that moment with each other will forever be in my memory as such a great achievement I’ll never forget.

What role has sport played in your rehabilitation? Sport has played a massive role in my rehabilitation. I absolutely love any code of sport. Even when I was bed bound, not able to sit up, I could keep my mind busy watching sport on TV in hospital. My biggest goal throughout my entire rehabilitation program was to get back to playing golf again as I had a brand-new set of golf irons still in their box that I got for Christmas the same year I broke my neck.

How did you feel when you were told you made the Warrior Games team? There was a bunch of mixed emotions when I received the email to say I had made the team, but the main ones being a mixture of joy, happiness and motivation. Also a great sense of relief after spending a lot of the day refreshing my inbox awaiting the verdict. I also felt for the competitors that didn’t get selected as everyone at the trials were great people and I felt like they all deserved a spot.
 
What is your greatest achievement to date? Hard to narrow down to one so here are three. Overcoming all previous doctors’ assumptions and being able to not only walk, but also able to somewhat run again, beating my mates in a round of golf one year post my accident and overcoming my fears and taking on the challenge of swimming at Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 with a lot of success.

Why did you apply for Warrior Games? I applied for the Warrior Games because I’ve seen first-hand how amazing the Adaptive Sports Program is and what it’s done for so many people over the years. Personally, I thought it would be a great opportunity to challenge myself further within sport and during my rehabilitation, while spreading positivity and supporting others as a previous competitor and helping play my part in a leadership role.

What will “winning” look like for you at the Games? Winning for me at these Games is being able go away and compete in a competitive environment once again; being able to connect with other nations from around the world, making new friends along the way, supporting and encouraging my fellow teammates with no expectations. Making the team is already a win in my eyes, so my next goal is to compete at the best of my ability and just enjoy the experience and everything it has to offer.

Who is supporting you at the Games? I will not have any friends and family travelling with me to watch the Games, however if it is livestreamed, I will have a bunch of my friends and family watching and supporting me from back home.