Gough credits family and friends for helping “drag him” from the “pit of self pity” he was in.
Among those who rallied around the then 20-year-old following the crash was Matt Hampson, a fellow former Leicester Tigers forward who came through a life-changing accident of his own in 2005.
Hampson was left paralysed from the neck down when a scrum collapsed in an England Under-21 training session.
And in the two decades since, his mantra of “get busy living” has defined how he used his personal setback to set up a foundation in his name, as well as a state-of-the-art facility that offers support to others in a similar situation.
“Matt has been like a big brother to me,” Gough said. “Whenever I’ve needed him, he has been there and offered support.”
And so, there is little wonder why Gough echoes Hampson’s motto when explaining that sport has helped him to “learn to live again”.
Unsurprisingly wheelchair rugby was among one of the earliest activities Gough tried, but it is on the water that he has thrived.
Gough made his international debut in June and claimed a bronze medal in the men’s VL1 final of the Para-canoe European Championships in Racice, Czech Republic.
“I felt completely lost, but now I have found my way through life and found purpose again, which is so important,” he said.
“It gives me drive to continue and to pursue everything I want to get out of life.
“When you are on the water, it is quite freeing. I’m the same as everyone else, I’m paddling the boat.
“I’ve seen the podium now and I want more of the podium. And I want it on a bigger scale.”
Gough has aspirations to now go on to compete at the World Championships and feature at the Paralympic Games in the future.
And he will approach those global events with medals on his mind, as he tries to match what his fiancee Kylie Grimes has already accomplished.
The 34-year-old became the first woman to win a Paralympic gold medal in Wheelchair Rugby when GB won the event in Tokyo in 2021.
“She has put me on the best path to get that gold, because I can’t let her have a gold and me not have one!” Gough said with a smile.
“She has been there, done it, gone to three [Paralympic] Games and got gold. So she know how it all works.
“Her work ethic and drive is exactly the same as mine – she is like me, just a female version. We go together very well, she supports everything I do and she just wants the best for me.”
