By Owen Morgan

Adam Harcombe says taking up athletics helped him out of the dark he was lost in after sustaining life-changing injuries in a savage and unprovoked attack.

The former Ystrad Rhondda rugby player suffered catastrophic brain injuries and was left unable to walk.

His sight was also severely affected after being beaten with a metal baseball bat.

Since the attack, which left him in a coma, Harcombe has undergone multiple surgeries including having part of his skull removed due to swelling on his brain and 11 operations in three years on his eye.

Now, almost five years on from the incident, the sight has been restored to his damaged left eye and he is not only able to walk again, but to compete.

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At the Welsh Senior, U17 and Para Indoor Championships earlier this month, the 30-year-old won the ambulant para shot put gold.

Minutes after stepping down from the podium, Harcombe revealed how athletics and his late coach Glyn Pugh, who passed away last February, had helped turn his life around.

“That was phenomenal,” he said after receiving his medal. “I’m a bit emotional because I lost my coach last year. I keep a photo of him in my pocket and I felt he was there with me today.

“His partner, Pauline is here and she said before the competition, ‘he’s here with you today, pushing you on’.”

Harcombe turned to athletics as he battled to rebuild his life in the wake of the attack which happened as he walked a friend home from a nightclub in 2020.

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The injuries he suffered, which have left him with a weakness in his left side, meant he had to give up his job as an electrician and ended his rugby playing days.

“I was a pretty competitive rugby player, championship standard. I’d had ambitions to play for Wales a long time ago, but I didn’t quite make the cut.

“And then this happened to me,” said Harcombe referring to the attack. “I was in the dark for a long time.”

It was then it was suggested he should try taking up athletics as a para competitor at Rhondda AC.

“Because of my injury, they said I would probably qualify as a disabled athlete. I didn’t want to at first, to be honest,” admits Harcombe.

“But it’s the best thing I’ve done and maybe I’ll get to represent my country as a para shot putter, who knows? That’s my goal.

“The world’s my oyster at the minute because of para athletics. I’d advise anyone going through what I’ve gone through to consider athletics because it’s so rewarding.

“It’s fantastic getting your name announced to the crowd. I did nearly shed a tear in the shot circle today. But I was aiming for a PB and that’s what I got along with the gold medal.”

Adam Harcombe competing at the Welsh Indoor Athletics Championships. Pic: Owen Morgan

Harcombe said his performance at the National Indoor Athletics Centre in Cardiff was dedicated to his former coach.

Pugh himself was a successful shot putter, representing Wales at junior, senior and masters level, before going on to become the throws coach at Rhondda AC, where he was also chairman of the club.

Harcombe said: “Everything I do is dedicated to Glyn. I’ve even got his initials tattooed on my arm.”

Looking to the future, Harcombe is aiming to return to playing the oval ball game through walking rugby and to continue competing in the shot put.

“I’m aiming to go Scotland in May to play walking rugby and I’ll target the Welsh champs again in athletics,” he said. “If I can win again, I’m going in the right direction and then hopefully a bigger year again next year.”

“I started rugby again after being approached by the Welsh disability coach. I don’t want to take a knock to my eye, so walking rugby is the next best thing.

“It’s harder than it looks! I keep getting told to slow down!

“I came through Pontypridd and Cardiff Blues development systems as a youngster and I was pretty good. Not tall enough, I don’t think, for a centre, but I made up for it with punch.”

Adam Harcombe in shot put action. Pic: Owen Morgan

Now he is channelling that strength into sport once again, with inspirational results which have also seen him rebuilding his life away from the shot put circle.

Harcombe’s story was highlighted in the BBC documentary, Saving Lives in Cardiff, which follows the work of surgeons at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW).

After 10 eye operations – including a cornea transplant and glaucoma surgery – TV cameras followed him into his 11th operation in three years.

The programme showed him removing his eye patch the day after the operation and his emotional reaction to it.

“I can see. It’s perfect,” he said.

As well as developing his athletics skills, Harcombe has returned to work joining Vision Products as a volunteer, assisting with the manufacture of windows. The position led to him securing a traineeship position where he is learning new skills, such as welding windows.

As a way of saying thank you for the care he received at UHW, has also volunteered on the neurosurgery ward as a “patient befriender” talking to patients who have suffered brain injuries.