Korey was 15 when he was thrown from his motocross bike

Korey Boddington has little memory of the weeks following his motocross accident at the age of 15.

His mum tells him he was in and out of consciousness after he came out of a three-week coma, and she made sure she was there for him each and every time.

Boddington's first clear memory following the accident came much later as he struggled to recover physically and mentally.

The Sunshine Coast local had already survived a car accident four years earlier.

Then 11, he was chasing a cricket ball when he was hit by a van. The impact shattered the right side of his body.

While he was in high school, his life turned "upside down" again when he went flying off his motocross bike.

The accident happened at the Suncoast Junior Motorcycle Club's Quanda Park track. Boddington attempted a jump and was thrown from his bike.

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He was flown to hospital from the track and left in a critical condition with head and spinal injuries.

"I was in a coma for three weeks, and after that I was still not responsive for another month," he told nine.com.au.

Boddington had to learn to walk, talk and read again: "Just even remembering things was a challenge."

"I had a trachea in for three years just to help me breathe so my airways didn't close. I don't know how I did it," he said.

The accidents have left him with permanent nerve damage, stroke-like symptoms, and a right side now running at 50 to 60 per cent capacity.

Boddington knew he wanted to do something physically competitive, the question was what? He had finished his university degree in accounting and decided to save up for a bike.

"I went for a couple of group rides and I liked the sprint at the end," he said.

Boddington moved to Brisbane and was working as an accountant when he decided to make a go of it professionally.

"I found myself working too much and I wanted to find something else in my life. I remembered I liked sprinting."

Then, in early 2023, with no background in competitive cycling and a full-time job as an accountant, he stepped onto a velodrome for the first time. He began competing in events and set his sights on the Paralympics.

He tried multiple versions of bikes, including one that strapped his right arm in, but ultimately wanted more freedom of movement. Still, it was tough.

"I've had to figure out how to ride a bike because with my arm, it's hard to even steer. Especially when you're in the narrow bars," he said.

He said he steers "with basically one arm".

By the time he thought about competing in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, he had a few wins under his belt.

"I never really thought about the Paralympics, but I always knew it was a possibility," he said.

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"I was just always so focused on being the best that I could be in every competition."

Eighteen months later, he won Paralympic gold in the C4-5 1km time trial, broke a Paralympic record, and helped Australia to a team sprint bronze in Paris.

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Two athletes recreate this photo almost a decade later

The "surreal" feeling of standing on top of the podium in Paris and collecting gold has stayed with him.

"I remember standing on the podium thinking I could go faster. Then I heard the Australian anthem and it was just surreal."

His trip to Paris was only his second time outside the country.

Boddington's incredible achievements have been chronicled in a new Australian documentary called Changing Track.

He features alongside fellow Paralympic cyclists Emily Petricola, who lives with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and Kane Perris, who was born with Albinism.

The documentary will been shown for one day only at select cinemas on International Day of People with Disability on December 3.

And Boddington isn't done yet. Far from it.

He now has his sights set on the next Paralympics in LA in 2028, and is even more excited about Brisbane 2032.

Boddington said for him, para-cycling isn't a comeback story.

"It was a choice. A decision to pour everything I had into something that could pull me forward," he said.

"I wasn't trying to 'overcome' anything. I just needed to move. To grow. To prove to myself that I still had more to give.

"I hope people watching this film realise they don't need to have it all together. You don't need to wait for the right time, the perfect opportunity, or for things to get easier. You can start now.

"Whether you've had setbacks, injuries, or just feel stuck, you can still change track. I've spent most of my life figuring out how to keep moving forward with what I've got. And I've learnt that belief is a muscle.

"The more you use it, the stronger it gets. If this story lights even the smallest fire in someone to fight, to try, to believe again, then we've done something that matters."

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