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In one photograph, Nic Beveridge’s intense frustration is dramatically captured. Yet, the story behind Delly Carr’s powerful image is as much about friendship and trust as it is an insight into how our Paralympians feel about the postponement of the Tokyo Games.
Carr is a highly respected photographer who has worked at countless Para-sport events as well as nine Olympic Games. Utilising his deep understanding of what makes athletes tick, he set out to illustrate that the effects of the postponement are more profound than many may have thought. The result is a stunning collection of pictures titled ‘Athletes Are Not OK’.
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Four Para-athletes are among the 17 Tokyo hopefuls Carr photographed. But it is the image of Beveridge – a beautifully lit shot of the Para-triathlete grimacing behind a barrier of frosted glass – that encapsulates the special link shared between the pair.
“Just under three years ago I had a stroke,” Carr said.
“I was out of work for six months, in rehab and such, trying to get my left side back in shape. I was fortunate that a lot of athletes checked in on me around that time, but Nic and a lot of other Paralympians I’ve worked with really all came to the fore. They were sending me messages of encouragement – almost bombarding me with encouragement – to help me battle through it and get back to work.
“When Nic found, out he sent me lots of papers and books about rewiring the brain and about being positive in situations like that. We had a few chats in that time as well.
“I read all the literature he sent me and it helped me cope with the rehab. We’ve had a nice relationship since then, we see each other a fair bit at his triathlons and, where we can, we’ll sit down and have an orange juice and a chat.”
There are many talented photographers in Australia. But it’s likely that only with Carr would Beveridge have been so candid.
“I’ve known Nic for a long time, he’s a lovely guy and is friends with everyone,” Carr said.
“You don’t put the words ‘Nic Beveridge’ and ‘angry’ in the same sentence. So I’m blessed that he was so honest with me and revealed what he really felt about this big mess and all the uncertainty about getting to the Paralympics. I loved Nic’s reaction, the frustration and confusion he showed, all the wondering he went through about ‘Do I continue or not?’
“In the end, he also talked to me about the isolation being a good thing because it’s helped him fall in love with training again and put him back into a good mindset.”
The upheaval Carr knew Beveridge and other athletes were going through prompted him to undertake the project, which cannot be displayed in a gallery due to social distancing rules, but may be publicly shown around the time of next year’s Games.
“You think of athletes as ‘faster, stronger’, mentally tough superhumans. But they’re just like you and I. They had something so dear to them taken away and I think most people probably thought ‘Oh, you’re an athlete, you’ll get over it, it’s just sport’. But that’s not the case. Their dreams and goals were smashed. That was the whole premise for this project.”
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