Saturday, April 26, provincial para-athletics athletes braved the rain, chilly weather, and gusty wind on the outdoor track at Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard for the Chantal Petitclerc Para-athletics Classic.
The Paralympic multi-medalist and spokesperson for Défi sportif AlterGo was present to watch the competitions, cheer on the athletes and award medals at the event named after her.
“A message for everyone”
Regardless of the weather, Chantal Petitclerc ensures that each year, she’s there to encourage and get to know the next generation of Canadian para-athletics.
The Défi sportif AlterGo is, without a doubt, extremely important to Chantal for many reasons. “It’s the foundation of everything. When we say ‘It all starts here’, we really mean it, because often it’s a para-athlete’s first competition, our discovery of a sport that’s going to be part of our lives. It’s a chance to meet other people with disabilities like ours, or that are different. It’s also the development of a community, a sense of belonging.”
It’s a message that extends beyond parasport, intended for the entire population, a message that is so central to Chantal herself: “Everyone has a potential that is greater than their limitations.”
Chantal received that very same message from sport. After the accident that left her paraplegic when she was 13, Chantal was lucky enough to have a physical education teacher who, through his own initiative and without any special tools, pushed her to start swimming. Later, she discovered para-athletics and fell in love with wheelchair racing.
“Parasport is alive and thriving”
Parasport led Chantal to the impressive career we’re all familiar with today, and above all, it enabled her to discover and explore her full potential. “Sport has played such an important, transformative role in my life, as a person with a disability, and as a young person when I had my accident. Sport opened up all kinds of possibilities for me and made me believe that I was capable of leading an active life. So being a spokesperson for the Défi sportif AlterGo is my way of giving back to something that has given me so much.”
Chantal participated in the Défi sportif AlterGo for many years before becoming a spokesperson over 25 years ago.
Today, on the outdoor track at Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard, Chantal was delighted to see that she knew no one. “It’s pretty fantastic because I’m coming here to the 42nd Défi sportif AlterGo and I don’t know a single athlete. I think it’s a good sign because it means there’s a whole generation of young athletes, including young girls, who continue to keep para-athletics alive, strong and powerful. I find it’s extraordinary to see these athletes, these young people. Maybe they’ll end up at the Paralympics in a few years’ time, and maybe not, it doesn’t matter. They’re living all the experiences that I’ve lived too, and which have been so important to me.”
The athletes at the track were equally delighted to meet the Paralympic multi-medallist at the competition that bears her name.
“Trust yourself”
Chantal wants to pass on these words of wisdom to the young athletes taking part in their first competitions and entering the world of parasport: “Trust yourself, have fun. When you’re an athlete it’s easy to become a little anxious, a little stressed, or to spend too much energy wondering what other people think, or whether you’re going to be okay, all that. You really have to return to yourself and say I’m here, I’m taking it all in, and I’m giving the best performance I’m capable of. I’m here to try and enjoy it. It’s not always easy, but when you succeed, it’s really the best experience.”
Read also : Liette Marcil and the Défi sportif AlterGo: a charmed history
