Para cyclist Keely Shaw eager to upgrade Paralympic bronze medal in Paris

When Keely Shaw from Midale, Sask., captured Paralympic bronze in the women’s C4 individual pursuit three years ago, it was a proud moment for the country.

It was Canada’s first medal at the Tokyo Paralympics on the track in para cycling.

“Tokyo is a really good reminder that I’m resilient and I can overcome,” said Shaw. “The Paralympic medal has its own little shrine on our bookshelf. It stays out for everybody to see. Every time I go by that bookshelf I see that bronze medal and it reminds me that so much can change in so little time.”

Shaw found herself standing on a Paralympic podium just four years after her first para cycling race in Moose Jaw.

Being a Paralympian was something she couldn’t have imagined back in 2009 after she fell off a horse on her family farm when she was 15 years old. The fall caused partial paralysis on the left side of her body and ended her hockey career.

Shaw was able to turn to para sport and now, a decade and a half later, she is preparing for her second Paralympics with Team Canada in Paris.

2:03 Saskatchewan para swimmer Shelby Newkirk entering second Paralympics with podium hopes

As if being a high-performance athlete isn’t enough, she’s earned her master’s degree, a doctorate and defended her PhD from the University of Saskatchewan less than a week after returning from Para Pan-American Games in December.

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“I’ve got a bike racing room, I’ve got an academic room, I’ve got a family room, I’ve got a dog room,” said Shaw. “If I’ve got these different rooms in my head that I can visit when one of those rooms tends to crumble around me, I can bounce back stronger than before.”

It’s a valuable perspective for the now 30-year-old, knowing what’s still certain in her life beyond the final time at the line in Paris.

“While I’m at the biggest sporting event in the world, this is not the entirety of the world,” said Shaw. “Whatever happens, good or bad, everybody who loved me when the sun came up that morning is still going to love me just as much when the sun goes down.”

Shaw is slated to defend her bronze medal in the individual pursuit on Aug. 30. She will also compete in women’s road race and time trial events.