Power Tools

Olympic athletes inspire us – they show us the true beauty, and the potential of the human body. The Olympics are grueling mentally and physically, but what if your body didn’t respond as fast? What if your lost your sight, or your legs at a young age? The athletes that compete in the Paralympic Games face the same grueling athletic challenges, but for many, they have been pushing their physical ability boundaries for years. Imagine that walking down the stairs takes every once of energy of you have. Or imagine relying only on the smells, sounds around you to see. Now imagine, throwing yourself down an icy hill. Crazy? Hardly – it’s just the mentality of a paralympic athlete.

Read up on some of the most inspiring athletes competing this March (12th-21st), and support your favorite athlete.

ALPINE: At her first Paralympic Games in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, Karolina Wisniewska of Calgary won two silver medals in the women’s alpine events. Four years later at the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, she won medals in all four alpine disciplines. She began alpine skiing at age 6, and even after being diagnosed with cerebral palsy, she continued racing against able-bodied skiers. “I remember walking out of the tunnel into Rice Eccles stadium next to my teammate and it was the most amazing feeling that came over me to see all of those people going crazy cheering and waving. There were so many Canadian flags in the crowd! It was truly overwhelming and emotional and I was so happy to be there representing Canada. Once the Ceremony had started and we were in our seats, my teammate and I turned to each other and said that even if we didn’t win any medals it had been worth it just for this.”

BIATHLON: Verena Bentele from Tettnang, Germany, is a decorated Paralympic biathlete competing in the visually impaired class. As a 16-year-old, Bentele won her first four medals at the Paralympic Winter Games in Nagano in 1998. Four years later, she won another four gold medals in Salt Lake City 2002, followed by three additional medals in Torino 2006 . “Two days before we left Germany to go to the Paralympic Games in Salt Lake City, I had a crash during my training and hurt my right foot. The doctor told me that I would not likely take part in the first competition of the Games, and that I should try not to use my foot for the next several days. I was thinking a lot about myfoot the morning the first competition started. Then, when I finally got onto the course to warm up, all thoughts of my injury left my head. Once I was in race mode, I crossed the finish line with the fastest time. I won the gold medal…Never give up, and always expect that your dreams can come true. You just have to believe in them.”

WHEELCHAIR CURLING: Chris Daw has represented Canada in adaptive track, marathon, basketball, rugby and curling. He was the skip for Canada’s gold-medal winning wheelchair curling team at the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games. Daw returned to the Elderton Curling Club near London, Ontario, with his gold medal. “{In Torino} There was a crowd so loud you might think you were at a football game instead of a curling match. We already surpassed our own expectations. After the Games, I would learn that our coach thought we had a chance at a bronze medal, at best. And given that our curling team was only put together nine months before the Games, I think we all knew that we would give it our best but weren’t positioned to win. The gold medal game was close and I was prepared to win a silver medal. That’s when, in the last end, Great Britain missed our rock.”

CROSS COUNTRY: Canadian cross-country skier Brian McKeever was chosen for the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, making him the first winter sports athlete to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. McKeever has won seven Paralympic medals, including four gold. McKeever suffers from Stargardt’s disease which has left him with impaired sight. His brother Robin acts as his guide; “Guiding my brother Brian for the past seven years has led to some great times, some great races and some hilarious stories, but it has never been easy. For a B1 classified skier (that is, totally blind), the guide — through verbal direction and without touching the athlete — has to keep the athlete on an undulating race course and away from competitors, trees, people, fences and television cameras along the course.Greatness is only achieved through an amazing bond of confidence between guide and athlete. Last season, after working full-time for four years, starting a family and training less, Brian surpassed me in physical fitness. That’s when the communication on the race course consisted of me wheezing a heck of a lot and him telling me to move over ‘cause I was going too slow!”

*Athletes bios from Paralympic Perspectives

Read more on the Paralympic Games