Third time will be a charm for Sandrine Hamel

BROMONT, Que. – At her first Games, it was the roar of the crowd at the Opening Ceremony and the venue, then the nerves. At Games No. 2, it was the pressure to win a medal.

For her upcoming third Games, Para snowboarder Sandrine Hamel knows those emotions can not only affect performance, but experience as well. And in this life, it’s firstly about the experience.

‘’I’m hoping to enjoy these Games a little bit more than my last two,’’ said Hamel to CPC at the national team’s training camp in Bromont, Que. in late September. ‘’The first time it was all nerves, the second I was so focused on results that I didn’t really take the time to enjoy the experience.

‘’This time, I want to be more in the moment.’’

Born with a double major scoliosis, Hamel tried snowboarding for the first time at age eight.  She quickly became hooked on the adrenaline sport provided for her.

She later discovered that snowboard included a Para component after seeing a TV commercial. She then consulted the Canadian Paralympic Committee website which confirmed Para snowboard was an emerging sport and offered at clubs across the country. She started competing shortly thereafter. 

Sport soon became her raison d’etre. While snowboarding is Hamel’s primary focus, she also boxed for many years as a form of cross training, still regularly plays stand-up hockey with her friends, and recently discovered an adaptable way to do mountain biking.

It’s perhaps those thrills from her early days in the sport she wants experience at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games and appreciate how far she’s come.

During the CPC interview, Hamel was also asked a question for social media about Thanksgiving and what she is most thankful for.

‘’I’m thankful for my health which I admit sounds cliche,’’ she said. ‘’But for me being born with a handicap I learned at a very young age that health is precious. That’s also what motivates me to practice my sport.

‘’Sports bring balance on and off the playing field. You need to give time for friends and family and basically experience other things. It always makes me feel better and I therefore perform better on the mountains.’’

Para snowboard is not an easy sport to master as anyone who has attempted to ride can attest. In a fast-growing sport at the high-performance level, Hamel is enduring the bumps and bruises to remain among the world’s best in her sport.

She says every competition gets more competitive and the rivalries are pushing the riders to excel beyond levels ever anticipated. With that experience, Hamel has quietly glided from newcomer to mentor in less than a decade.

‘’Every crash, every bad run taught me something,’’ she said. ‘’You learn how to reset quickly, because in this sport you have to.’’