Jamie Harrison
Jamie Harrison is a T9 incomplete paraplegic at the age of 51. The Finke Desert Race, a 406km long race held over multiple days, features up to 600 motorbike and 150 car competitors. Jamie had raced competitively in this race on a motorbike since 2007.
In 2021, after just completing the first fuel stop and sitting third in class approaching the 80km mark, Jamie hit a rock at 120km/hr. This accident caused Jamie to be thrown over the handlebars four meters into the air before hitting the ground, resulting in several broken ribs, a smashed right leg, and broken left shoulder and right wrist, among other injuries. The worst injury occurred when the bike landed on Jamie, breaking his back.
After approximately a 40-minute wait, a helicopter arrived to take Jamie to the hospital but couldn’t accommodate a laying down position. After another 40-minute wait, another helicopter arrived, and Jamie was airlifted to Alice Springs Hospital. Throughout the ordeal, Jamie never lost consciousness, enduring extreme pain.
After an initial assessment and waiting for arrangements, Jamie was airlifted to Royal Adelaide Hospital for a 10-hour surgery followed by 10 months in rehab. Isolated in an Adelaide hospital away from family and friends in the middle of COVID-19, Jamie faced a mental battle to cope with the realisation of the injuries and the extreme isolation. Depression and suicidal thoughts were constant companions as Jamie lay on the back for months with nothing but thoughts for company.
This tragic accident forced Jamie to face adversity head-on with the question “what if?”. Facing every obstacle, whether mental or physical, Jamie constantly asked, “what if I find a way to make this work?” and “what if I re-establish myself and find a different self-worth after feeling like I’d lost everything, even my identity after the accident?”
In the three years since the accident, Jamie has achieved remarkable milestones on the road to recovery. Returning to the very race that led to being in a wheelchair, Jamie competed in The Finke Desert Race in 2024 in an offroad buggy, finishing a respectable fifth on Day 1. Jamie also rides a legally modified adventure on/off-road motorbike, enjoying the freedom of riding and being part of the motorbike community once more.
In addition to motorbike riding, Jamie has taken up mountain bike racing and competed in the Nationals in Melbourne, Victoria, in 2023. Now, Jamie aims to answer the next “what if” – “What if I share my story and can help others?” and “What if I turn this challenge into an opportunity to reach people in their darkest moment and get them back to who they should be?”
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