Going for the Gold
Gavin Kilpatrick just took home a Bronze medal for cycling at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games for South Africa. And what do you know – he’s a ZoomText user!
At the age of five, Gavin was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, which causes loss of central vision. It’s been a part of his life ever since but that hasn’t slowed down his sense of adventure.
Gavin dedicated seven years of his life to preparing for the Beijing Games. The Games arrived and he and his pilot Mike Thomson crashed while competing against the Australians in the Men’s B/VI tandem sprint (track). Despite the injuries sustained in the fall, they picked themselves up and beat the Japanese in the next race to bring home the Bronze medal.
“The magnitude of the event and accomplishment has transformed me into a new person who appreciates what I have achieved and to help others realize their potential,” says Gavin. “All it takes is a little dream, some faith and anything is possible.”
While he’s not giving up sports totally (he is aiming to compete at this year’s Adaptive Rowing World Championship in Germany as well as being a member of the South African Disabled Golf Association), Gavin contacted me with an interest to start a career in the business world. He’s studied a number of courses including sports psychology, therapeutic massage, but has finally decided to follow a career in conference and event management which he studied in 2006 at Damelin College.
“You need to try many different things to figure out what you like and what you are good at,” says Gavin. “From there it depends how badly you want it.”
In comes ZoomText – Gavin wanted to become more involved with such a product that makes the lives of people who are visually impaired a lot easier. He sees the product as helping his own career advance and sees himself as a ZoomText ambassador over in South Africa. So far he’s found ZoomText to be very user friendly and an effective tool to help him read documents and web pages with ease, increasing his productivity.
Gavin is seriously considering competing at the London 2012 games but possibly in rowing this time. He has also recently taken up golf for the disabled and is a huge fan of motocross and bass fishing. We wish him the best of luck at the London Games – go for the gold!
