A Tasmanian athlete and coach who has spent decades showing up for others is now the one in need of support, as a GoFundMe campaign is launched for combat sports figure Priscus Fogagnolo during his battle with cancer.
The Lenah Valley man was diagnosed with testicular cancer around a month ago and has already undergone surgery.
His long-time student Hamish McLaren set up the fundraiser after asking Fogagnolo for the chance for the community to help him for a change.
McLaren, who has trained under Fogagnolo for 16 years in judo and MMA, said the diagnosis had come as a shock to many because Fogagnolo is an intensely private person.
“A lot of people across the state and Australia didn’t actually know his medical condition and what he was suffering,” McLaren said.
“But I think we’ve found based on the immense reach already that, you know, there’s a lot of people out there that he’s had such a positive impact on.”
McLaren described Fogagnolo as possibly the most influential figure in Tasmanian combat sports history, with achievements spanning judo, MMA, Brazilian jiu jitsu, wrestling, strongman, powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting.
Fogagnolo has competed at the world championships for judo, holds a 12-1 professional MMA record, was named Tasmania’s Strongest Man, competed at the Arnold Strongman and was part of the Australian weightlifting team as a junior.
He narrowly missed selection for the Olympics in judo and the Commonwealth Games in wrestling due to injury.
He also set national records in discus as a junior that stood for around 15 years.
“He’s achieved more across four different sports than some professional athletes will in their own one sport,” McLaren said.
Despite the gruelling treatment schedule of five days on and 10 days off, Fogagnolo is still showing up for his athletes.
McLaren said he was still turning up at 5:30am to watch his athletes train who are competing at the Oceania championships as part of the Australian team.
“He’s still painfully involved when he probably could just have a bit of a spell and sit back and rest,” McLaren said.
Fogagnolo lives with his wife Bonnie and four sons.
McLaren said his coach had never asked anyone for help and was surprised by the generosity the campaign had already received.
“He’s actually sitting back and saying, ‘Wow, I didn’t realise people would be so generous,'” McLaren said.
Physical fundraising events are also being organised to support the family, who are dealing with significant financial, emotional and physical strain.
McLaren urged anyone who could to donate, no matter how small the amount.
“This is an opportunity for so many people to give back to a man who has been there for all of us,” he said.
To donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/priscus-fogagnolo-cancer-fund-raiser?cdn-cache=0.
