The company unveiled the robotic legs, which allow paraplegics to stand and walk, less ago than a year ago with MacCalman becoming the first person to purchase them for just under $150,000 (£91,000).

MacCalman, formerly one of New Zealand's top basketball players, sustained a spinal cord injury diving into a river in the United States over 30 years ago and admitted that it was a surreal feeling to take his first steps in over three decades.

"It is hard to describe what it has been like to be back on my feet again," said MacCalman.

"I'm 6ft 4in so it's been amazing to experience life from that height again.

"I'm looking forward to taking my Rex legs home and being able to stand around and socialise with family and friends."

MacCalman, who represented New Zealand at four Paralympics and claimed his two gold medals in the F52 javelin at Barcelona in 1992 and the pentathlon at Sydney in 2000, got in touch with Rex Bionics after seeing the mechanic legs on the news last year and was invited to trial the device.

"I was a little bit apprehensive getting into the Rex for the first time," he said.

"The first few steps required intense concentration but it was truly exhilarating and I was buzzing at the end of the first session.

"It's like starting out in a wheelchair; you need to find out the limits of the device so that you can use it safely.

"I'm known to push my limits and I intend to use my Rex to its full potential."

MacCalman, whose last appearance at the Paralympics was at Athens in 2004 (pictured), will be required to do a few more hours of training before he gets to take his robotic legs home but he expects to be walking around his house with the help of the technology in a few weeks.

Rex Bionics chief executive Jenny Morel said the company was delighted to have made our first sale to such high profile New Zealander.

"The team has put in a significant amount of work since the launch, getting the product market-ready, fine tuning and completing testing," said Morel.

"Now we can't wait to see how Dave integrates Rex into his social, work and home activities."

The mechanism took seven years and $10 million (£6 million) to develop before it was ready for launch last July.

The legs were developed by Scottish-born New Zealand engineers and childhood friends, Richard Little and Robert Irving, from an idea born soon after Irving was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and left with a possibility that he would be in a wheelchair.

The concept started on the back of a beer coaster in a Newmarket bar while the design work began in secret.

Both Little and Irving were motivated by their mothers, who were both in wheelchairs, to come up with the idea.

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