Aiming High

24 February 2010

Sarah Fuhrer aims high – she intends graduating with degrees in law and psychology and is training with the goal of representing New Zealand at the Paralympics in 2012 and beyond.

She's into her second year of study at Waikato University, coming to Hamilton from Gisborne's Campion College, and this year has secured a Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship. The scholarships are awarded to students who are excelling in their chosen art of sport and who maintain high grades in their study. Course fees are paid and students have free access to some university facilities and have mentors and coaches available too.

Sarah was born with congenital amelia which affects the growth of limbs. She was born with only one full and when she was ten she had both legs amputated above the knee and walks using artificial limbs. She's always liked the water, but it was only a couple of years ago that she decided to start competitive swimming. Last year she won a gold medal in the 200metre freestyle at the Australian Youth Paralympic games. Her coach is Graham Smith and she swims with the Fairfield Club.

"I put pressure on myself to succeed, passing isn't good enough. Right now I'm training eight sessions a week, that's about 15 hours, so I do get pretty tired. It's great having people at the university to talk to, so we can discuss any issues I may be having. Swimming requires a lot of dedication and mental toughness, and sometimes I get frustrated when I don't reach my expectations."

Sarah lived in Student Village during her first year and now lives in Student Village flats. She finds the Waikato campus relatively easy to get around. Last year she completed four law papers and six papers in total, but because of the amount of training she has to do, has cut back on her papers for 2010.

"I'm not sure yet what field of law I'll end up working in. I had thought about child and family, but now I've done some papers in the subject, human rights is appealing too. I like the subjects I'm studying, and I've found that law and psychology complement each other, there's a big overlap and that helps my understanding."