South African archer Shaun Anderson won’t have to look far for inspiration when he sets his arrow at the Paralympic Games on Friday.

Inscribed on his bow will be the names of friends and family who have succumbed to Covid, not least his father Basil, who died just five weeks ago.

During one of their final conversations, while his father was ailing in hospital, he told Shaun not to worry – the Games would take place, and he’d be there.

“He always believed in me,” reflected Shaun from Tokyo. “He was always my hero.”

To say that Anderson has scaled a mountain or three to get to his second Paralympics is putting it mildly. His life story is scarcely believable, from his quitting school in Standard Six to his latest incarnation as a happy chicken farmer.

The narrative begins with him suffering from dyslexia and then losing his left arm in a motorcycle accident in 2004.

Thirteen years later, his legs were paralysed in a boating accident, a savage blow that might have destroyed a lesser man.

Yet somehow Anderson kept the faith, and his optimism. He endured a long period of rehabilitation, and then the day he walked out of hospital his house burned down.

“We managed to save two bottles of red wine and some crackers,” Anderson recalled. “We sat on the stoop, me and my wife along with my kids. We were drinking wine and were crying and we were like, ‘How much more can we go through?’ That was really tough. It was like, ‘What else?’”

Somehow, his sense of purpose and zest for life were undimmed. He shrugged off the hardship and got on with things, which included sharpening up his archery. He wanted to get to Tokyo, albeit in a different category, having been a stand-up amputee in Rio while he’s now wheelchair-bound.

Unsurprisingly, his first foray into the sport came because he was told it would be impossible to compete with a single arm.

A dozen years ago Anderson had walked into a bow shop to equip his son, who was keen to try archery. Determined to support him, Anderson said he’d like a crack too.

The shop assistants thought he was crazy.

Undeterred, he went away and did his homework. He even learned to shoot an arrow using his mouth. In 2012, he won the gold medal in his category at the Commonwealth Games. He was on his way.

Although he produced a satisfactory performance in Rio, he wasn’t happy. He has spent the subsequent years sharpening his game, 80 percent of which he claims to be mental with 10 percent physical and another 10 percent pure luck.

Based at Pretoria University, he was in training camp for the three weeks leading to the Tokyo Games, which he reckons helped a great deal, especially in overcoming his father’s death.

“I can shoot a bow, that’s not an issue. Mentally, though, it’s not easy – I’m ADHD and hyperactive. But I’ve put a lot of work in, I’ll be far stronger than I was in Rio. It’s all about using those six arrows, absolute focus, and then looking around at the butterflies and whatever else.”

Aged 48, Anderson will dwell on thoughts of his family – he’s been married 21 years and has two children – to help motivate him.

He recently bought a smallholding where he farms chickens for supply to small businesses. His physical state and endless cheer have already earned him the dubious nickname “the kruppelgat farmer” (the cripple-arse farmer), which he quietly enjoys.

With luck, when he steps out at the Dream Island Archery Park in Tokyo for his turn on Friday, the remarkable strength that defines him will manifest as he takes aim.

Whatever happens, his ability to overcome every ordeal already marks him as a champion.

📺 SuperSport’s broadcasts of the Paralympics continue through to September 5 with extended daily coverage on SS Variety 2 and 3 and the SS Grandstand channels.