KURT Fearnley’s passport is covered with stamps from countries around the world - but he is constantly reminded of his roots.
The wheelchair racing champion from Carcoar is regularly congratulated for his exploits in winning marathons by Australian travellers overseas.
This has happened plenty of times this year, as he has won numerous events to stamp himself as the top racer in the world.
And Fearnley regularly finds himself asking admirers if they hail from the Central West given the amount of support he receives from his home region.
“I think every trip I go away I run into someone from the Central West and I think that is one thing that has changed in the last few years is just the support,” Fearnley quipped.
“It’s not just the 300 people from Carcoar or just my family.”
The 27-year-old, who was born with lumbosacral agenesis which saw him develop in the womb without part of his lumbar, also has a team of people around him from the Central West.
His chair mechanic Andrew Carter is from Bathurst and long-time coach Andrew Dawes is an Orange boy.
Fearnley’s family sometimes joins him jet-setting around the world to various events, so he is always reminded of home.
Dawes has been with Fearnley every step of the way since meeting him in 1995 when the Paralympic gold medallist was a 14-year-old schoolboy at Blayney High School.
It was a chance meeting that spawned what has been a successful partnership.
Dawes made a stop at Blayney on a trip from Orange to Sydney to give Fearnley a lift at the request of one of his teachers.
“He was heading that way and he made a detour to Blayney and the rest is history,” Fearnley said.
Dawes started off setting out training programs for the prodigious teenager and he has turned out to be the man behind the impressive racing record.
And while success at international level, particularly at the Paralympics, has made Fearnley a household name, few outside wheelchair racing circles would know who Dawes is.
But Fearnley certainly does after 13 years of experiencing the highs and the lows together.
“He is there every single step of the way. Dawesy goes through everything with me,” Fearnley said.
“The only thing different with him and me is that I get the slaps on the back and he doesn’t.”
There have been plenty of slaps on the back this year after what was an amazing 2008.
Fearnley is back in Australia and returned to the Central West just over a week ago to catch up with friends and family following a busy year.
He also had time to talk to the Central Western Daily from his Australian training base in Newcastle about the amazing year he has had and what lies ahead.
Fearnley had a drama-filled Paralympics in September and the events that transpired in Beijing would not be out of place in a script for the latest Hollywood sporting film.
The Charles Sturt University, Bathurst graduate missed out on a medal in his first event, the 4x100m relay thanks to a botched change-over.
He then claimed silver in the 5000m as Thailand’s Prawat Wahoram surprised Fearnley and Great Britain’s David Weir, Fearnley’s big rival, to take out the gold.
Officials then started Fearnley from the wrong lane in the 800m final, seeing him boxed in the whole race before winning silver.
The Australian team protested the race result, which was upheld and the final could have been raced again, but Fearnley withdrew the protest, letting the result stand.
He was then clipped from behind in the 1500m, sending him into a spin - but he recovered to take bronze.
Fearnley went into the Games as a big gold medal chance in his events but was without one after four of his five events.
His last chance was in the marathon and he was able to put the extraordinary events of his Beijing campaign behind him and claim back-to-back marathon gold medals (pictured left) after his success in Athens in 2004.
This was one of many marathon victories this year, as he also took out the prestigious London and Chicago Marathons and became the only man to win three-straight New York Marathons earlier this month.
The Oz Day 10km race and Peachtree title in Atlanta are other successes in 2008.
Fearnley could add another feather to his cap this week when the NSW Young Australian of the Year is announced on Thursday.
The Carcoar racer is one of four finalists for the award this year after also making the shortlist for the honour four years ago.
He is used to awards for racing but admits being up for an honour like the NSW Young Australian of the Year is a strange feeling.
“It’s a little bit different but I just think it’s one of those things when you have to be grateful,” Fearnley said.
“I try not to think about it too much and just take it in my stride.”
Regardless of if he wins the award, 2008 has definitely been a memorable one.
He is back in Australia now and will spend his time between commitments in Sydney and Melbourne, training in Newcastle and at home with family in Carcoar.
He looks forward to doing “not much” at home and this will give him time to reflect on what he has achieved in a big 12 months.
But the thing he sees as being his biggest achievement is one that has taken eight years.
“The thing that I see as being my biggest success, in every marathon since October 2000, I have finished on the podium,” Fearnley revealed.
The triple Paralympic gold medallist will work towards winning more titles in 2009 but has the main ambition of simply continuing to enjoy his sport.
“I just love racing. I’ll just enjoy the ride while I’m still on it and that’s the goal for 2009,” he said.
The 27-year-old still has plenty to offer the sport and will push for a third-straight Paralympic marathon title in London in 2012 - but also hinted he is looking even further ahead.
Fearnley is happy being able to dictate where his career is heading and revealed he will have no regrets when it finally draws to an end.
“It’s nice to be in the position where I feel I’ve done everything I want in the sport. It just feels like I’m in the driver’s seat in terms of what races I go in and when I race and when I’ll stop racing,” he said.