Paralympians ponder future

When Canadian wheelchair racers Cody Fournie and Austin Smeenk rolled into the media mixed zone after their last races at the Paralympic Games, there was no hesitancy about their future ambitions in sport.

‘’I plan to keep going to Los Angeles,” said the soft-spoken Fournie, 35, whose reaction is quite understandable after paying his dues for many years to get to the Games then savouring a double gold performance in Paris.

‘’I want to continue to perform and compete at the top level.’’

Smeenk, 27, won his first two career Paralympic medals in Paris, his third Games, with gold in the T34 800m and bronze in the 100m. He was already talking about his next conquest later this year after his victory on September 7 at the Stade de France:  the pursuit for a world record in the 5000m.

‘’I want to get it done before the end of the year,’’ said Smeenk, from Oakville, Ont. and now based with Fournie in Victoria. ‘’I know I’m close. My body has a fantastic speed endurance profile build right now, so I want to find an opportunity to do that.’’

For others, like four-time Paralympian Para swimmer Aurélie Rivard, a 13-time Games medallist, including a gold, silver and bronze in Paris, there’s a lot of reflection ahead. Rivard, from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., is currently studying law at Universite Laval in Quebec City.

‘’I’m still unable to decide but I approached the Paris Games as if they were my last,’’ Rivard, 28, told Montreal radio station 98.5. ‘’I really wanted to experience them to the maximum. I still have some questions to ask myself.

‘’I need to have the passion and the motivation.’’

Kamylle Frenette of Dieppe, N.B. got married in 2023 and her pharmaceutical career is well underway. The Dalhousie University graduate was fourth at both her Paralympic appearances in 2020 and 2024.

‘’I’ve spent most of my life focusing on sports,” said Frenette 28, a front-line worker during the COVID crisis. ‘’I’m going to take a little block of time to focus on that (her future), and then get a bit more comfortable in my career as a pharmacist. After that, we’ll see.’’

Blade runner Marissa Papaconstantinou of Toronto, one of Canada’s most recognized Paralympians with her involvement in the movement and appearances on several TV commercials, was at her third Games in Paris.

‘’I’m going to take a couple of months off,’’ said the T64 100m bronze medallist in Tokyo. ‘’I’d love to start building my resume and do other things outside of sport. Sports take up 90 percent of my time and there are other avenues I’m also looking forward to.’’

Papaconstantinou, 25, has a BA in Sports Media from Toronto Metropolitan University and is pursuing a career in broadcasting in which she hopes to contribute to the growing coverage of Paralympic sport.