Weekly round-up: Paralympians focus on family and health

Even though Canada’s Paralympians are not able to compete right now, or train at their normal pace, they are still keeping themselves busy whether it’s doing at-home workouts, virtual chatting with friends and family, or sharing their stories in the news and on social media. Each week, we’ll compile various top social posts and articles to see what Canadian Para athletes have been up to. Here are some highlights from the past week: 

Retired Paralympic swimmer Benoît Huot and Olympic diver Alexandre Despatie hosted this week’s edition of TCCC Weekly Live with special guests Nate Riech, a world champion runner in Para athletics, and Olympic field hockey player Scott Tupper. They discussed connectedness and what family means to each of them. Check out what they had to say below! 

Wheelchair tennis player Thomas Venos of Anmore, B.C., who competed at the Lima 2019 Parapan Am Games last summer, shared his thoughts on coping in these trying times and what he does to keep sharp so he can be ready when action resumes. 

An inside look at Thomas Venos and how he’s spending his time. ⁦@TennisCanada⁩ ⁦@BCWSA⁩ https://t.co/54UBZlZ6gq

— WheelchairTennis CAN (@TCwheelchair) May 12, 2020

With the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games postponed to next summer, Paralympic thrower Jennifer Brown talked about her mixed emotions this season with the Toronto Observer. CLICK HERE for the full story. 

In an Inspiration News podcast shared on Friday, Montreal’s Alison Levine – ranked #1 in the world in boccia – chats with host Mark Bergman about how she got into boccia in the first place, how she has adapted to isolation, how she is able to train from home, and more.  

NEW PODCAST! Listen here https://t.co/UZIpGmVg03@BocciaAlison Levine ranked #1 in the world in boccia and was ready for the 2020 @Paralympics until they were postponed. Join @MarkBergmanMTL as he chats with Alison about adapting, isolation, preparing for the next competition. pic.twitter.com/XGQFxIyuIm

— Inspirations News (@InspirationsMTL) May 15, 2020

Para cyclist Lowell Taylor, a member of Canada’s 2019 Parapan American Games team, led his first @CyclingCanada group ride on @GoZwift which attracted participants from all across Canada. His wife and biggest supporter Julie got in on the fun as well. 

Well that was fun. Lowell led his first @CyclingCanada group ride on @GoZwift and I rode right alongside him— happy to bring down the group average! Thanks to all who joined… it was great to see riders from all across Canada! ‍♂️ ‍♀️ #zwift #garagegym pic.twitter.com/kgXuZPv7ER

— Julie and Lowell (@JulieLowellCAN) May 15, 2020