PARALYMPIAN Dylan Alcott is a leading contender for the Newcombe Medal when the 2016 winner is revealed in Melbourne on Monday night. Adam Peacock talks to the wheelchair wizard.

Ghostface Killah

Triple Gold winner

Flyin’ in a chair

A non-stop thriller…

It would be a surprise if MC Dylan Alcott got up tonight in front of a room full of tennis types and busted out his own rhyme at the Newcombe Medal.

Even more so if he used the amateurish lyric above.

But don’t rule it out. Don’t rule out this talkative bloke in a wheelchair grabbing a mic to give the likes of Margaret Court and Ken Rosewall a different sound.

Nothing can be ruled out with Dylan Alcott.

Ghostface Killah…

Before the bit about sport and 2016, here’s the bit about Dylan Alcott the urban legend.

Two years ago almost to the day, Alcott was crowd surfing in his wheelchair — as you do — as his favourite hip hop group, Wu-Tang Clan, tore up the stage.

Days before he’d just played tennis for 24 hours straight to raise $100,000 for the Starlight Foundation. A wonderfully noble gesture, certainly more noble than Wu-Tang Clan’s lyrics, but that’s not the point. Life’s all about balance.

So Alcott crowd-surfs to the front. And is called up by the group’s leader Ghostface Killah. He’s now on stage. Handed a mic. And nails — not gets right, nails — the rap to his favourite song.

Everyone else goes berserk, including Ghostface Killah. Don’t let the name fool you, according to Dylan Mr Ghostface is “actually a great bloke”.

The immigration department didn’t think so a year later when they banned him from entering Australia after finding a conviction from the 90s.

In rolled Dylan to the rescue.

“A friend of mine worked in the promotion company asked me to write a letter of reference to the immigration department to get (Wu-Tang Clan) in,” says Alcott. “I don’t know how much of a role it played for coincidentally the next day, they got in.”

And a few nights later, Dylan was back at it. On stage. Handed a mic. Nailing, nailing his favourite rap.

Never mind the wheelchair. Never mind the spine severed as a baby in an operation to remove a tumour.

Life was just warming up.

TRIPLE GOLD WINNER

For two years he’d spent six to seven months of the year on the road travelling. Exotic and exciting, yes. Gruelling too.

He’d become the best quad wheelchair player on the planet in singles.

So he rocked up to Rio 2016 Paralympics with enormous hopes of becoming a dual sport gold medallist.

In 2012, he won gold as a free-scoring shooter on a basketball court.

His basketball career was a blur. Two years after his first game he was picked for Australia — a 6 foot 4 wingspan helped accelerate the process — and soon after he was wheeling around London with flash new jewellery.

But tennis had his heart. It helped him avoid darkness. Life in a wheelchair was okay in primary school, but high school — when hormones smash into each other to bring out the worst in adolescence — set him back.

“I was an overweight kid embarrassed, playing video games eating food. And tennis pulled me out of that,” says Alcott.

“I loved the social aspect of tennis. Actually a sport I can play with my family. Can’t play footy with my brother. Struggle to play cricket. Can’t play basketball against him. But he and I can have a hit of tennis.”

So after his glorious basketball sabbatical he returned to tennis, and another Paralympics, in Rio.

In singles he went in with just one loss in 34 matches so gold was expected.

The doubles though, was from it. His partner was Heath Davidson, a childhood mate he grew up with in Melbourne who lost his ability to walk when his spinal cord became inflamed as a baby.

“In the final we played the number one pair from America who’d never lost in Paralympic history, winning Athens, Beijing and London.

“We were down 6-1, 4-1, 40-0 — you know that means: you are up the creek. I was genuinely thinking on court what I was having for dinner. We were done.”

“But we won five games in a row… then I stupidly took a toilet break, momentum gone, down again 3-0, up against it!

“Then, somehow, we won 7-5 in the third.”

A day later he won his singles. A triple gold medallist in two sports.

“Probably try high jump or long jump for Tokyo,” he says, pausing for effect.

“Nah maybe cap it at two sports. Unless I try curling at the Winter Olympics… ”

He chuckles with that thought. Don’t rule it in. But don’t rule it out.

FLYIN’ IN A CHAIR

In 2017 Alcott will ease off the tennis. He’ll still play the big events like the Australian Open he wants to defend. But there’s only so many times you want to win the Swiss Open and banking the 1000 bucks prize before the novelty wears off.

Especially when back home he’s landed a gig any 25 year-old who loves music can only dream about.

Weekend Arvo’s With Dylan on Triple J. He recently did a few auditions, they loved what they heard and bang, next year every Saturday and Sunday from 2pm he’ll be the one choosing tunes at Triple J. TRIPLE J!!!!

“You look at athletes, like for example in swimming, they don’t have balance and their life becomes hard. I have music and that’s been a good release. And I think there needs to be more role models in mainstream media for people with a disability… I want to be that positive role model on a regular basis.”

Which is why Monday night is unique.

The Newcombe Medal is, as the criteria tells us, awarded to the “Australia’s most outstanding elite player and ambassador for the sport”

Alcott knows his place. Would he be here if he could run?

“Realistically, what percentage of tennis players make it and make money? I would love to have been Novak or Roger, but realistically, I might have just been hacking around with me mates. I don’t think I would have been nominated for the Newcombe Medal if I was an able bodied tennis player. That’s why I don’t take for granted and am happy about the position that I’m in.”

Which is exactly why Alcott is a nominee. Some say favourite, above Sam Stosur, Daria Gavrilova and John Millman. The logic is if Nick Kyrgios’ cause was terminally weakened by the ‘ambassador’ aspect of the criteria, why shouldn’t Alcott’s be strengthened by it?

He’s done all he can on a court.

He’s done all he can off it: ask anyone from Ghostface Killah, to Heath Davidson, to the kid somewhere in a wheelchair who pins his ambition to the story of Dylan Alcott.

A win tonight would be wonderful, deserved recognition.

Not winning, though, won’t stop him in his tracks. Not a chance. His wheels have turned into perpetual motion.

He’ll be seen and heard for generations to come, inspiring all along the way.

His ride… a non-stop thriller.