The air carried that familiar mix of chlorine and humidity, the kind that settles into your skin and lingers long after\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0left. Voices echoed off tiled walls\u00a0\u2013\u00a0instructions, splashes, the low hum of parents half-watching from the pool deck.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Justin Marafioti was among them, his attention drifting between the water and his daughter as the\u00a0afternoon unfolded exactly as it always did. Nothing felt out of the ordinary\u00a0\u2013\u00a0until a familiar face caught his eye.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0a moment that announced itself, just a brief\u00a0recognition in an otherwise forgettable afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They had first met years earlier in rehabilitation,\u00a0two men navigating life after similar workplace injuries, learning in their own ways what it meant to rebuild. Then, as life tends to do, it pulled them in different directions\u00a0\u2013\u00a0into work, family, routine\u00a0\u2013\u00a0until, unexpectedly, those paths crossed again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The familiar face was Jed\u00a0Altschwager, a Paralympic gold medallist who had recently stepped into a new role\u00a0leading\u00a0the South Australian Sports Institute\u2019s\u00a0(SASI\u2019s)\u00a0Para Unit,\u00a0helping shape pathways that\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0existed in quite the same way when they first met.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d just started the role,\u201d\u00a0Altschwager\u00a0said. \u201cAnd then this big, strong bloke walks in\u00a0\u2013\u00a0someone I already knew\u00a0\u2013\u00a0and I\u2019m thinking, surely we can find you something.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n What followed\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0feel like a turning point,\u00a0just a conversation between\u00a0two\u00a0old mates, catching up on life, fatherhood, training, and everything in between.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Marafioti, sport had always been a constant\u00a0\u2013\u00a0strength, discipline, routine. Then came the workplace accident, reshaping life as he knew it.\u00a0<\/p>\n He will never forget the date: 19\u00a0May\u00a02015.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was hit by a forklift at work,\u201d he said. \u201cThe impact completely crushed my lower left leg, and it\u00a0ultimately resulted\u00a0in a below-knee amputation. It was sudden, traumatic\u00a0\u2013\u00a0I was\u00a025-years-oldat the time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In the immediate aftermath, the focus\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0reflection\u00a0\u2013 only\u00a0survival and direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I remember most clearly was thinking about how to move forward and make the most of a terrible situation,\u201d he said. \u201cI knew self-pity\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0build the life I wanted. And I kept\u00a0thinking \u2013\u00a0this\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0the life my wife signed up for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n At first, the scale of what had changed was\u00a0difficult\u00a0to fully\u00a0comprehend.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPretty quickly, I realised things would never be the same,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the bigger shift came later\u00a0\u2013\u00a0when I realised different\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0mean worse. It just means you need to adapt.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The recovery carried both physical and mental weight in\u00a0different ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe early stages were the hardest physically\u00a0\u2013\u00a0pain, healing, learning movement again,\u201d he said. \u201cBut mentally, it was the uncertainty. Wondering what life would look like, how I would provide for my family, whether I could still be the man I wanted to be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere were a lot of bad days,\u201d he said. \u201cFrustration, anger, self-doubt. That mental battle was heavier than the physical one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n At that point, elite Para sport\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0on his radar.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I was just focused on getting through each day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But something familiar kept\u00a0drawing him back.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cReturning to the gym the first time was emotional,\u201d he said. \u201cIt had been part of my life for years before the accident. Walking back in meant more than exercise\u00a0\u2013\u00a0it was a statement that I was still here, still capable. It gave me purpose again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n When asked what he would say to himself in those early rehab days, his answer\u00a0is immediate.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI would tell him this pain will turn into strength,\u201d he said. \u201cStay patient. Keep showing up. The life ahead will still hold success, pride, and meaning.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n At the time,\u00a0the meeting at the pool\u00a0was just a conversation \u2013 its significance only became clear in hindsight.\u00a0<\/p>\n Altschwager\u00a0saw it\u00a0immediately: not something to build, but something already built.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t get too many people like that walking through the door,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019d spent years in the gym\u00a0\u2013\u00a0there was a base you don\u2019t often see.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Around them, the system had evolved too,\u00a0largely thanks to\u00a0the Para System Uplift\u00a0\u2013\u00a0a coordinated effort between national and state high\u00a0performance sport. The pathway at SASI had become more connected, more responsive. Classification, coaching, and access to high\u00a0performance environments were no longer separate steps, but part of a\u00a0system designed to meet athletes where they were.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt gave us a real example early,\u201d he said. \u201cHow do we get someone like Justin in the door, under the bar, into the system? And once we worked through that, it moved quickly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As Marafioti\u2019s progression accelerated, support from Para Powerlifting Australia became a key part of\u00a0his journey, with national coach Simon Bergner helping guide his transition into elite Para sport.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Classification brought clarity, coaching followed, training shifted from individual effort to structured performance, and within weeks he was under the bar at SASI; within months competing nationally, and soon after, internationally.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt all happened pretty quickly,\u201d Marafioti said. \u201cBut I knew I had to keep improving-\u00a0you still have to earn it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat progression is rare,\u201d\u00a0Altschwager\u00a0said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot to learn beyond lifting \u2014 competition, preparation, recovery \u2014 and he had to take that on quickly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, the foundation held.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was exciting, but also humbling,\u201d Marafioti said. \u201cYou realise pretty quickly there\u2019s a big difference between training in a gym and performing in that environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Even as sport accelerated, life did not slow, with\u00a0Marafioti balancing full-time work with training, alongside raising two young children.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, a big reason it works is my wife,\u201d he said. \u201cShe carries a lot for our family, and what I\u2019m doing is definitely a shared effort.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Over time, something else shifted\u00a0too\u00a0\u2013\u00a0identity\u00a0\u2013\u00a0as he moved from someone testing himself in the gym to someone\u00a0operating\u00a0within international competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOnce I started competing internationally and performing at that level, it became real,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s when the mindset changed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, training is less about discovery, more about refinement\u00a0\u2013\u00a0strength built over years, shaped into performance through consistency and control.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRight\u00a0now\u00a0it\u2019s about building strength, refining technique, staying healthy, and putting together consistent training blocks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n What once\u00a0felt deeply uncertain, now\u00a0feels increasingly within reach, with possibilities like LA 2028 beginning to\u00a0emerge\u00a0on the horizon.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Adelaide this month, as the Para Powerlifting Australia Grand Prix arrives at SASI, Marafioti will be there\u00a0\u2013\u00a0not competing, but far from absent.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt still means a lot to be involved,\u201d he said. \u201cIf my story helps bring attention to the sport or inspires someone to give it a go, that matters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For those coming through, he sees something familiar.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe hunger and excitement,\u00a0I still feel close to that,\u201d he said. \u201cIt shows how quickly things can move when you get the right support and back yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n And still, the story traces back to that afternoon at the pool\u00a0\u2013\u00a0not because it\u00a0explains everything that followed, but because it helped align what was already there: experience, timing, opportunity, and a system finally able to respond.\u00a0<\/p>\n For\u00a0Altschwager, that carries personal weight as well as professional insight\u00a0\u2013\u00a0both men rebuilt after similar injuries, and both understand what it takes to begin again.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a special one,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve shared similar experiences, and now I get to see him take this opportunity and make the most of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For Marafioti, the reflection is\u00a0direct.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHow much life can change,\u201d he said, \u201cand that tough moments don\u2019t have to define where you end up,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cYou just keep moving forward\u00a0and sometimes, things fall\u00a0into place when you least expect it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Some stories begin with a decision, others begin at a swimming pool, in the middle of an ordinary afternoon, when timing \u2013 or something close to it \u2013 does its work.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.paralympic.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FX30_9849.00_06_29_13.Still002-1-2000x1125.jpg\")
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