A freak accident with a woodchipper has not stopped a young Milldale athlete from sprinting his way to the Para Athletics World Champs in Paris.

Paralympic hopeful, Mitch Joynt (28), has qualified to compete in the world championships, and only $2,000 stands in his way for his fundraising efforts.

Mitch, a below-the-knee amputee, will compete in the 100m T64 and 200m T64 sprints. 

The T64 indicates his class on the track: athletes with movement moderately affected in one lower leg or the absence of one or both legs below the knee. 

This will be his second world champs, the first being in Dubai in 2019, where he set the record in the 200m T64 section. 

He not only reached the final and posted a national record of 23.65, but he also set an Oceania record of 12.40 for the 100m T64.

Not too shabby for the rookie who has only been running sprints since 2017! 

Mitch ran a road race prior to 2017 and was spotted by his coach, Hamish Meacheam, who convinced him to swap the tar for the track, and the rest, as they say, is history!

His goal now is to be selected for the NZ Paralympic squad to compete in Paris next year.

Mitch set up a Give-a-Little page to help him with transport costs to Paris. 

Of the $5,000 needed, he only needs $2,000 to finalise his travel expenses. 

The Hibiscus Coast is filled with kind-hearted residents who can reach deep into their hearts and their wallets, and help Mitch get to Paris. 

His page is  https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/mitch-joynt-to-world-champs-2023

Mitch was 18 years old, and working as an arborist when he had a freak accident. 

A woodchipper was placed on a gravel road, and while working, his right foot slipped and got trapped in the machine. 

His foot was severely damaged up to his shin and resulted in his leg being amputated just below the knee.

The accident happened in the middle of December 2013, and he was fitted with a prosthetic leg at the end of February. 

He learned how to walk again and was back at work full-time - as an arborist - by July.

“Learning to walk wasn’t so difficult so I didn’t have to go back to square one,” he admits. 

“The tricky part was learning not to use my ankle as much, and rather use my hips and knees more.”

Mitch is now a truck driver and has adjusted to driving without using his ankle too much too.

Before the accident, Mitch played sports socially, not competitively. 

“I played hockey, rugby and did snowboarding. But I was determined that a prosthetic leg was not going to prevent me from playing sports and living life.”

He lives in Milldale with his wife Olivia (who was his girlfriend at the time of the accident), and their two fur babies.

All the best to you Mitch!