Marty Jackson is a man of many sporting talents.
He was a gun gridiron player before suffering a serious leg injury while playing and doctors told him he would never walk again.
But walk he did and four years after taking up athletics, Jackson won a Commonwealth Games silver medal after his second placing in the F38 shot put earlier this year.
He is now an Australian para ice hockey representative.
The Ocean Grove arborist has just returned home after competing in the World Para Ice Hockey World Championships in Vierumaki, Finland.
The Aussie Ice Roos lost both their pool games – a 6-1 loss to the host nation and a hefty 40-nil loss to China.
“Competing in Finland was an incredible experience,” Jackson told the Voice.
“We were staying at the Finland Institute of Sport and Olympic training centre. It was a live, eat and breathe ice hockey trip.
“To be able to compete where ice hockey is loved by all was just something else.”
Jackson will now turn his attention back to the shot put.
“I’m fortunate that the major competitions of each sport fall on alternate years,” he said.
“While we were beaten convincingly by both teams, this trip for the Ice Roos was about finding out where we sit in the scheme of thing, learning as much as we could and legitimising the sport for Australia, so that we could return and build our program.”
The Ice Roos were initially going to make their international debut in 2020, but threw themselves into the deep end early.
“The 6-1 scoreline from our first game against Finland probably doesn’t reflect how well we played for first timers, with the Fins commenting that they weren’t expecting us to make it that tough for them,” he said.
“China are another story. They have been on the Ice together up to three times a day, seven days a week as a unit, since their formation. They were just too fast for us. We now know what we need to work on and were we need to be come out next chance to compete at the World Para Ice Hockey Championships C-Pool in 2020.”
Jackson said he was pleased with his contribution to the team.
“I learned so much from our time there, and it has certainly given me the insight into where I need to be skill wise come next Aus team selection,” he said.
