Since walking to that first lamppost, De Mello has gone on to compete in 20 New York City Marathons and five Paralympic Games, competing in swimming and wheelchair fencing.
In the men's Para S8 100m freestyle , Fraser edged between gold medallist Austin and fellow Australian Blake Cochrane to earn silver for Scotland in a British record 1:00.77, with David Roberts - 11 times a Paralympic champion - fourth for Wales, swimming against less-disabled athletes.