Winter Paralympians get extra motivation from summer cousins

Para alpine skier Frederique Turgeon was already excited about the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris before they even started. She was primed to cheer on her friend and former teammate on the slopes Mel Pemble who switched from Para alpine to Para cycling in 2018.

Pemble competed at the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea and became one of the rare athletes to accomplish the incredible feat of being a winter and summer Paralympian in Paris.

‘’It was cool to know someone personally at the Games and cheer her on,’’ said Turgeon, a two-time Paralympian. ‘’I mean watching the Paralympic Games is exciting for us because it impacts us directly. We know the effort these athletes have put in to get there.’’

Para snowboarder Sandrine Hamel moved to Montreal this year to train at the Institut national du sport du Quebec and was excited to share the Games with other athletes.

‘’The Games were on the television where we were practicing and everyone would stop what they were doing to watch the Canadians race,’’ she recalled. ‘’It really gives us a boost to work even more towards the winter Games which are coming up next year.’’

Mark Arendz, a four-time Paralympian in Para nordic skiing, says Paris was special.

‘’It was amazing to see how thrilled, excited and how passionate the fans and Paris locals were during the Paralympics,’’ he told CPC. ‘’Filling stadiums, providing endless energy supporting all the athletes – even through the television you could feel those powerful moments.’’

Arendz added the Paris Games was groundbreaking for the Paralympic Movement and should spill over to the next winter Games, Milano Cortina 2026 in Italy.

‘’To me, Paris will stand out as the Games where we witnessed a shift in the importance and value placed on the Paralympic Movement for our global society,’’ he said. ‘’I feel the Paralympics took a huge leap forward in recognition during these Games.

‘’The Paralympian’s voice seemed louder and more prominent. It now falls to the Winter Paralympians to build upon this momentum into Milano Cortina.’’

Para snowboarder Tyler Turner, Canada’s first Paralympic champion in the sport, says Paris was also historic for Canada with the launch of the Paralympic Performance Recognition program to provide Paralympic medallists with financial reward.

‘’It was great to see the athletes being supported at so many levels,’’ said Turner. ‘’There’s a lot of high and lows that you go through as an athlete and I know that program had a big impact on the athletes.’’

For Para alpine skier Michaela Gosselin, the coverage of the Paris Paralympic Games made her feel it was reaching the same level as other major sporting events.

‘’I was glad to see the spectators back, and see everyone exploring around and not wearing masks,’’ she said. ‘’The coverage has traditionally been inconsistent, but these Games were really easy to access so that’s another huge motivator for me going into next season.’’