By Jaehoon Kim
When 10 Ottawa Lions were selected out of the 26 athletes officially nominated to the Canadian team for the London Paralympic Games on Canada Day, the proof was there – the nation’s capital has become a central hub for the nation’s top para-athletes.
Half of those Lions moved to Ottawa from elsewhere in Ontario in the past year to train under wheelchair coach Amanda Fader and Hugh Conlin, a national para-athletics event group coach.
“The most important thing for athletes, both for able-bodied and para-athletes, is to have good coaching, good programs and access to good facilities and support groups, like physiotherapy,” Conlin highlights. “We have outstanding facilities all-year round and it’s a good high-performance atmosphere for athletes to be around.”
Conlin has been a track and field coach since 1976, getting his start coaching at a school he was teaching at, and then moving on to coaching in the community club system. The Ottawa native is the lead coach for ambulatory athletes, which includes athletes who are visually impaired, athletes with cerebral palsy, and also amputees.
“I enjoy working with para-athletes,” says Conlin, noting there isn’t much of a difference from coaching able-bodied athletes other than some training modifications to accommodate physical imbalances. “They’re very thankful to be able to have an opportunity to compete and to have an opportunity to be in athletics. It’s really satisfying to work with these athletes. The club, and myself, we take a lot of pride in our Paralympic athletes.”
Conlin currently coaches Brandon King, a runner with a visual impairment, will take part in his first Games along with guide runner Andrew Heffernan. They’ll compete in the T11-13 4×100 m alongside Lions teammates Jon Dunkerley and Sean Young.
Leah Robinson – the youngest member of the Canadian Olympic or Paralympic team in Beijing at age 14 – will compete in the T37 400 m event for athletes with cerebral palsy.
Rachael Burrows, who will make her Paralympic debut in the T34 100 and 200 m, moved from Burlington, Ont. to Ottawa to train as a full-time wheelchair sprinter under Fader, while veteran wheelchair racer Curtis Thom – coached by Bob Schrader – also represents the Lions. Jason Dunkerley, Josh Karanja and Josh Cassidy are the other London-bound Lions.
High-performance house
Robinson, Burrows and King are currently living together as housemates near the Terry Fox training facilities.
“You want the athletes to live in a place where they have comfortable living arrangements and where they can get to the training centre easily,” Conlin notes. “They all have the same goals, they all have high standards for themselves and I think it’s a good thing to be around people who have the same goals and objectives that you have.”
The trio are all strong candidates to reach their respective event finals.
“Our expectations are for them to run a life-time personal best at the Games,” Conlin says. “Anything can happen at the Games, but we want them to have the best possible performance at the most important meet of their life.”
Canada has been seventh or better, in terms of gold medal count, in every summer Paralympics since the 1976 Paralympic Games, held in Toronto. Conlin explains that there is reason to believe that Canada will continue to be one of the top countries competing at the Paralympics for years to come.
“I think the para-athletics program has been getting stronger in Canada,” he says. “The more funding that we can get to improve training camps and conditions – that would be helpful. But continuing to put emphasis on coaching and programs and placing athletes where they can get those good programs – those are the keys to success.”
Athletes
Name: Brandon King
Events: T11-13 4x100m, 200 m (TBC, Ranked #31 in world)
Classification: T12 (visually impaired)
Age: 21
Associations: Ottawa Lions Track-and-Field Club
Hometown: Brampton
Previous Paralympics: None
Highlight: T12 200 m Canadian record holder
Name: Andrew Heffernan
(Guide runner for Brandon King)
Age: 23
Associations: Ottawa Lions Track-and-Field Club, University of Ottawa Gee-Gees
Hometown: Peterborough
Previous Paralympics: None
Highlight: University of Ottawa grad, Honours political science & history
Name: Leah Robinson
Events: T37 400 m (world-ranked 6th)
Classification: T37 (cerebral palsy)
Age: 18
Associations: Ottawa Lions Track-and-Field Club
Hometown: Mannheim
Previous Paralympics: 2008 – Finished 10th 200 m
Highlight: 5th at 2011 world championships
Name: Rachael Burrows
Events: 100 m (world-ranked 6th), 200 m (5th)
Classification: T34 (wheelchair)
Age: 29
Associations: Ottawa Lions Track-and-Field Club
Hometown: Barrie
Previous Paralympics: None
Highlight: First international race at age 16
Name: Curtis Thom
Events: T54 400 m (world-ranked 1st), T53-54 4×400 m relay
Classification: T54 (wheelchair)
Age: 26
Associations: Ottawa Lions Track-and-Field Club
Hometown: Mississauga
Previous Paralympics: 2004 – Finished 4th 4×100 relay
Highlight: Coached by his father, Ken, as well
Competition Schedule
KING: MEN’S T11-13 4 x 100 M RELAY – SEPT. 1, ROUND 1 & FINAL, 4:54 P.M. ET, T12 200 M – SEPT. 8, FINAL, 3:18 P.M. ET
ROBINSON: WOMEN’S T37 400 M – SEPT. 6 ROUND 1, SEPT. 8 FINAL 6:42 A.M. ET
BURROWS: WOMEN’S T34 100 M – AUG. 31, R1 & FINAL, 3:18 P.M. ET, T34 200 M – SEPT. 6, R1 & FINAL, 3:12 P.M. ET
THOM: MEN’S T54 400 M – SEPT. 5 ROUND 1, SEPT. 7 SEMIS & FINAL, 4:11 P.M. ET, MEN’S T53-54 4 x 400 M RELAY, SEPT. 8, ROUND 1 & FINAL, 4:45 P.M. ET
