When Billy Bridges first made the national Para-hockey team back in 1998, players had to buy their own Canada jerseys off the rack at a sporting goods store.
They paid to have their names ironed on the back at the B次元官网网址渕om and pop shop,B次元官网网址� said Sami Jo Small, a three-time Olympic medallist for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 womenB次元官网网址檚 hockey team, and BridgesB次元官网网址� wife.
B次元官网网址淲e still have some of those jerseys B次元官网网址� the names are peeling off,B次元官网网址� she added with a laugh.
Bridges remembers paying out of pocket for national team trips, often stuffing six players into a hotel room. His dad carved his sticks out of tree trunks. He now has a Para stick sponsorship deal.
B次元官网网址淣owadays, everything is taken care of,B次元官网网址� Bridges said. B次元官网网址淟iterally every single thing.B次元官网网址�
Bridges and cross-country skiing legend Brian McKeever competed in their sixth Paralympics in Beijing, while Para-hockey player Greg Westlake played in his fifth.
The three are not only some of the worldB次元官网网址檚 greatest Paralympians ever, theyB次元官网网址檝e also pushed the envelope of Para-sport in Canada, and helped reshape how Canadians and the world view athletes with disabilities.
B次元官网网址淲hen I started, it was a little bit more amateur, people had day jobs,B次元官网网址� McKeever said. B次元官网网址淭here wasnB次元官网网址檛 a lot of funding and very few of us were, letB次元官网网址檚 say, full-time professionals.B次元官网网址�
The 42-year-old from Canmore, Alta., captured three gold medals in Beijing to cap a spectacular career. With 16 victories, he tied GermanyB次元官网网址檚 Gerd Schoenfelder for the most titles by a male winter Paralympian.
McKeever is retiring after capturing 20 medals over six Games, many with brother Robin as his guide. Robin is the head coach of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Para Nordic team, and the two shared a long embrace after BrianB次元官网网址檚 final race Sunday, a sixth-place finish in the open relay.
Brian McKeever said he and his brother are B次元官网网址渟uper proudB次元官网网址� about how they pushed Para Nordic skiing.
B次元官网网址淭he level hasnB次元官网网址檛 gone that much up necessarily over the years, but itB次元官网网址檚 gotten way deeper, because now you cannot win without being a full-time professional. We instilled a lot of those values in our teammates as well, that you have to train like the Olympic stream does,B次元官网网址� McKeever said.
B次元官网网址淛ust because we might have some physical challenges doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean that we canB次元官网网址檛 train the same hours and have the same dedication.B次元官网网址�
McKeever said he wasnB次元官网网址檛 aware when he embarked on his career that B次元官网网址淧araB次元官网网址� in Paralympics actually stands for B次元官网网址減arallel Games,B次元官网网址� and not paraplegic, a common misconception.
B次元官网网址淪o we also have a bit of a marketing problem,B次元官网网址� he said.
McKeever, who has no central vision and only a bit of peripheral vision due to StargardtB次元官网网址檚 disease, said a rewarding moment was Taiki Kawayoke becoming JapanB次元官网网址檚 youngest Winter Paralympic champion at age 21 early in the Games. McKeever had done some technique coaching with the Japanese team when Kawayoke was 12.
B次元官网网址淣ow heB次元官网网址檚 in a University ski program, training with their Olympic stream athletes, and the team leader from Japan, whoB次元官网网址檚 been a friend of ours for many years, said, B次元官网网址榃e learned from you guys, that you must train with the best.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
If McKeever has one regret, itB次元官网网址檚 not racing at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He qualified in the 50-kilometre race but was an alternate on race day, a decision he said was out of his hands. HeB次元官网网址檚 proud of his 21st-place B次元官网网址� CanadaB次元官网网址檚 top result B次元官网网址� in the menB次元官网网址檚 15-kilometre freestyle at the 2007 world championships, for able-bodied athletes.
Westlake, a 35-year-old from Oakville, Ont., is retiring after his fifth Paralympic appearance, and with gold, two silver and a bronze medal.
HeB次元官网网址檚 been a steady voice not just for high performance Paralympic sport, but for sport for all Canadians living with disabilities.
B次元官网网址淚 visit a lot of hospitals in Ontario, mostly of the GTA Toronto region,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a whole other side to it, which is just that thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of people out there living with disabilities that need to feel the benefits of making friends through sport, and playing the game they love and doing it a different way B次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檓 very passionate about that.B次元官网网址�
Westlake, who was born with malformed feet and had both legs amputated below the knee before he was 18 months old, said he made sure to soak up every moment of his final Paralympic appearance.
B次元官网网址淚 enjoyed watching the Games through the younger guysB次元官网网址� eyes B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 been really special and really fun for me to be here,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 left it all out there, thereB次元官网网址檚 not a shift I took off. I got to enjoy every moment, and I canB次元官网网址檛 say that about some previous Games.B次元官网网址�
Bridges, meanwhile, is undecided on his playing future. The 37-year-old would love to continue depending on how his body holds up.
B次元官网网址淚 want to play as long as I can contribute,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 never want a free pass. I never want to just be handed a spot, I want to earn it, and I want to be able to contribute to the success of this team.B次元官网网址�
While Canadian athletes have helped stretch the envelope of Para sport immensely in the past two decades, thereB次元官网网址檚 still plenty of work to be done.
CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Olympic athletes who won medals in either the Tokyo or Beijing Games were financially rewarded B次元官网网址� $20,000 for a gold, $15,000 for a silver and $10,000 for a bronze. Paralympic medallists received no medal bonuses.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 long overdue,B次元官网网址� said Josh Dueck, CanadaB次元官网网址檚 chef de mission in Beijing and a three-time Paralympic medallist in sit-skiing. B次元官网网址淚 feel like that point of reckoning will happen in the next couple years. IB次元官网网址檒l believe it when I see it, when itB次元官网网址檚 in writing, but I really do feel that some of the conversations that are being had behind the scenes is that everybodyB次元官网网址檚 aware that it is past due.B次元官网网址�
Bridges, who has spina bifida, said the addition of womenB次元官网网址檚 Para hockey is also long overdue. ItB次元官网网址檚 a big reason for the huge gender gap in Winter Paralympic Games that saw women comprise just 24 per cent of the 564 international athletes competing.
Bridges, a native of Kensington, P.E.I. B次元官网网址� he and Small have a six-year-old daughter named Kensi for his hometown B次元官网网址� said when he first played the game in 1995, half of his teammates were girls.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 time, holy cow,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 know that hundreds, or thousands of women are playing across the world. I know that if they make a womenB次元官网网址檚 tournament at the Paralympic Games, teams will show up. I know that countries like China, theyB次元官网网址檙e not going to turn down an opportunity to win the medal. And not make a team. ThereB次元官网网址檚 so many chicken-and-the-egg arguments and IB次元官网网址檓 sick of it.
B次元官网网址淚 was raised by two moms, womenB次元官网网址檚 sport has always been my favourite. And thereB次元官网网址檚 no time like the present to get a womenB次元官网网址檚 division in world championships, Paralympics.B次元官网网址�
Small holds a girlsB次元官网网址� hockey camp in her hometown in Winnipeg every year. They bring along sleds, and Bridges coaches a Para hockey session with the girls.
B次元官网网址淭he difference that makes in those young girlsB次元官网网址� lives, they then expose the kids at their school that might have a disability, to Para sport,B次元官网网址� Small said. B次元官网网址淗e just has become this iconic figure to so many kids who see him as an incredible hockey player, not as somebody confined to a wheelchair.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 proud of so many things about him,B次元官网网址� she added. B次元官网网址淏ut itB次元官网网址檚 just that daily mindset shift I see even when we go to the grocery store, or when I see him get on the ice with some kids who have never seen (Para hockey) before. That to me is just so special.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擫ori Ewing, The Canadian Press
