Decades later, Stelios still remembers the floating feeling as he fell. It was 1980 and he was 18, playing for Whanganui Marist when his head made contact with his opposite number’s knee. Flat on the grass, he could move only his arms. When he learned he’d spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, his mind went to all he’d miss out on. Now he knows he needn’t have worried.  

He quickly got into wheelchair rugby, or ‘murderball’ as it was known in those fledgling days of the sport. They played in ordinary wheelchairs and broke a lot of equipment, he says. For several years he was the national title holder in wheelchair racing and in 1988 he competed in the wheelchair slalom at the Seoul Paralympics, only just missing the podium. For all of his rich achievements, nothing makes Stelios prouder than his family. He got the dream, he says, with an amazing wife, four boys and a quarter-acre section. Stelios loves a thrill: bungy jumping, planes, race cars, ziplines, any means of going fast and pumping adrenaline. For a quieter pursuit, he enjoys salmon fishing. 

Stelios is a keen sports fan (and a noisy one, if you ask his wife) and reckons nothing beats live rugby – hat tip to the Rugby Foundation for tickets to games and lunches with All Blacks. He is grateful too for help with adapted recreational equipment. Stelios says if he could miraculously run again, he’d get straight back into rugby boots. 

Hi Lisa  I always seem to email you when things are going wrong. Just wanted to share this special day with you. Today Stelios and I celebrate 30 years of marriage.30 years girlfriend, can’t believe it. - Leanne Meiramis  

Article added: Tuesday 08 August 2023