Ex-Special forces commando Wes Hennessey helps Waryk Holmes fund new racing wheelchair

Hennessey, a spokesman for the veteran, first became aware of Holmes' racing ambitions a year ago via Instagram, and has since developed a supportive friendship with the family.

Holmes requires a new chair, worth around $7,000, if he's to work towards fulfilling his ultimate goals of World Para Athletics Championships and Paralympics appearances over the next four years.

Upon learning of this Hennessey, whose company Seven Horses Co advocates for worthy causes, launched a GoFundMe campaign to help Holmes raise $10,000, in order to cover the costs of the chair and other participation fees.

The campaign is progressing well, with a little over $4,000 raised so far.

The fundraiser is just part of the assistance than Hennessey has looked to provide for both Waryk and his family.

"I saw that the family had been going through some hard times with Waryk's ailments, cerebral palsy. I reached out to them and wanted to help. When I travelled down to Bathurst for a wedding and a couple of other things I saw that as an opportunity to meet with the family," he said.

"I have some sponsorships with some supplement companies and I looked to supply him with some that could help him, and he's linked up with one of the coffee brands as well. We started off with some small scale things, but several little things certainly all add up.

"His mother, Tanya, is an amazing woman. With what she's been through and what she does for her entire family is very admirable. Seeing and hearing some of these stories really struck a chord with me, such as the fact that Waryk's older brother [Trace] has now joined the Australian army."

After meeting the family and learning more about their story Hennessey began to discuss the possibility of starting the wheelchair fundraiser.

Now it's already looking like a certain success after just over a week of the fundraiser being open, with almost 50 individuals contributing so far.

Hennessey said Holmes' story has touched him immensely.

"Waryk is, in fact, a huge motivation of mine," he said.

"Seeing what he achieves with the disability that he has, there's days where that makes me push myself harder to do more.

"It's a great relationship. It's not just one way. He motivates me and I'd like to think that I help support and motivate him."

Holmes will be targeting the 100m and 800m events, with the 2022 World Championships and the 2024 Paralympics being the ultimate goal.

He's targeting the NSW All Schools Championships in December and Canberra's Summer Down Under (SDU) event in January as his next events.

The GoFundMe link can be found at https://gofund.me/ee7e06fd.

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