London ( CNN ) -- Garett Hickling 's personal motto is , `` No fear -- give 110 % '' -- and he certainly lives up to it . Despite having broken his neck in a 300-foot cliff fall that killed one of his friends , the 41-year-old Canadian is a legendary figure in the brutal Paralympic sport of wheelchair rugby -- or `` murderball '' as it was originally named . Teams are 12-strong but only four wheelchair athletes are allowed at any time on the court , which is similar to a basketball space , with the basic aim of crossing into the scoring zone at either end while carrying the ball . Contact between wheelchairs is allowed -- and frequent -- while players often get tipped out of their chairs as the action is fast and furious . Hickling , who took up the sport in 1993 , is one of its leading players and has the scars to boot . He had to have his neck realigned in 2004 , ripped his left tricep in 2008 and last year separated his right shoulder . He has been MVP many times at major international competitions with Canada , including the 2002 world championships in Sweden , where he led his country to the gold medal . Canada won a bronze medal when wheelchair rugby was introduced to the Paralympics in 1996 as an exhibition sport , and then placed fourth when it gained full status at the 2000 Sydney Games . Silver and bronze medals have followed in Athens and Beijing for Hickling and his teammates . Broken neck . Hickling was brought up in British Columbia and played `` pretty much any sport imaginable , '' including ice hockey , baseball and football . But in February 1987 came the accident which was to leave him in a wheelchair . Out with friends , tragedy struck when they fell down a 300-foot cliff . One died , the other suffered severe injuries , and Hickling broke his neck . Determined not to let his disability curtail his sporting activities , Hickling initially took up wheelchair basketball and road hockey , but it was a meeting with Duncan Campbell , one of the Canadian founders of wheelchair rugby , which changed his life . `` He got me to come out , hit my first guy -- knocked him out of his chair -- and have n't looked back since , '' Hickling told CNN 's Human to Hero series . That was in 1993 , when he was 23 , and he has now been competing at the top level for nearly 20 years . North American rivalry . For much of that period , Canada 's players have been battling with their neighbors in the United States for global supremacy in wheelchair rugby . In the five world championships held since 1995 , the U.S. has come out on top four times , with Canada 's 2002 triumph in Gothenburg breaking that chain . But the most recent championships on home courts in Vancouver saw Hickling and his teammates back in fifth spot . Despite that setback , he still relishes the competition , particularly against the Americans . `` There 's definitely a little bit of rivalry there because the U.S has been ranked number one for many , many years , '' he said . `` There 's definitely a rivalry because we want to be there , and being such close neighbors we compete against each other a lot. `` But with the growing popularity of the sport , other countries are muscling in on the medal action . Golden dream . Heading into the 2012 Paralympics in London , which begin in late August two weeks after the Olympics finish , Hickling believes that the destination of the gold medal is no foregone conclusion , despite the traditional U.S. domination . `` Now , it 's anybody 's game . In these Olympics you actually do n't know who 's going to win , '' he said . The result of the Paralympic test event in London last month would appear to back up Hickling 's assertion , with Australia beating hosts Great Britain in the final . Canada claimed the bronze medal , beating Sweden , but all the matches were close and high-scoring affairs . In the likely autumn of his outstanding career , Hickling is desperate to add gold to his collection , having come so close in Athens and Beijing . `` I 've always enjoyed rugby but my ultimate is to go for that gold , '' he said . `` That helps motivate me , makes me train harder , makes us go out six or seven days a week and try to be in the best shape we can be and ready to go out there and pound some chairs . '' Sporting philosophy . As Hickling 's motto suggests , he is not an athlete who leaves anything on the court . `` I try to give 110 % no matter what I do , whether it 's writing a paper or trying to hit a guy ... you know ? It 's give it all you got , whenever you can . '' Despite his uncompromising attitude , Hickling has made many friends off the court , even among his American rivals . `` We do go out and have a drink or social after wards with the guys , but when it 's on the court , it 's game on ! ''
Garet Hickling is one of the top players in wheelchair rugby . The 41-year-old Canadian will be targeting gold at the 2012 Paralympics . Hickling broke his neck in a fall in 1987 which killed one of his friends . He is renowned for his robust play in a sport once named `` murderball ''