Small-town Saskatchewan athlete training to compete in next year’s Paralympics

To compete and bring home a medal from the Paralympics is Keely Shaw’s goal. If she makes it to the games in Paris next year, that will make it Shaw’s second experience on an international level competing in paracycling.

“That’s the hope, that our team (is named) for the Paralympics until June of next year,” she said. “But I think with my recent performances of Worlds, it puts me in a good spot.”

Shaw from Midale, Sask., has been athletic all her life. She fell in love with the sport of hockey and hoped to play professional one day, until a horse-riding incident left her with a brain injury.

“That led to complete paralysis on the left side of my body through various rehab time exercises,” she said. “I gained quite a lot of my function back, but I … still do still have that left side decrement. I’m probably 60 to 70 per cent function on the left side of my body.”

Her sporting interests changed from hockey to parasports when she was in university.

“When I found my bike, it provided me an opportunity to feel strong again, to feel coordinated, to feel powerful,” said Shaw.

Her newfound passion landed her in Tokyo for the Paralympic games in 2020, where she brought home a bronze medal.

“I experienced every single emotion across the full spectrum that day,” she said. “It was show up, have the race of a lifetime and win a medal or go home empty-handed … any time you win a medal at the Paralympics or the Olympics, it’s special.”

Shaw joined five elite athletes across Canada who joined ‘Team Toyota’ where they share their stories as they prepare for the global stage. The vice-president of sales and marketing for Toyota Canada said the athletes in ‘Team Toyota’ broke barriers and uplifted their communities.

“Our Team Toyota athletes are remarkable examples of what’s possible through the power of human movement,” stated Cyril Dimitris in a release.

“By sharing their personal stories about what has helped shape them, beyond sport, we hope to encourage and inspire more Canadians to start their own ‘impossible’.”

The full roster of the athletes of ‘Team Toyota’ including Shaw’s personal story can be viewed on the Toyota website.

1:43 Bronze-medal performance at Paralympics