This blog is a collaboration between five athletes with a disability and a graduate student at the University of British Columbia working in the area of sport sociology. You can find out more about the project here (link to About This Blog page). To meet the Blog Team keep reading!
Jason Dunkerley: As a three time Paralympic track medalist who is chasing Paralympic gold for Canada at his fourth Games, Jason is driven by the desire to leave it all on the track. Sports have been an important part of Jason’s life since before his family immigrated to Canada from Northern Ireland in
1991. Read more about Jason…Â
Courtney Knight:Â Courtney is a legally blind athlete who most recently represented Canada in cross-country skiing and biathlon at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver. Her skiing career was preceded by an impressive 12 years on the national Paralympic track and field team. As a summer athlete she won three Paralympic medals in discuss and javelin – two silvers and a bronze!
Courtney was the first athlete with a disability to qualify for a provincial able-bodied team when she represented British Columbia at the Western Canada Summer Games and the Canadian Junior Championships. Read more about Courtney…
Stuart McGregor: Stuart has competed in three Paralympic Games in the sport of athletics and medalled each time with one silver in the 1500m and two bronzes in the 800m. His wins include World Championships, Pan Am Championships and European Championships. In 2005, Stuart shattered his leg when a car hit him while he was on a training run. The recovery was long… a year off his feet followed by a painfully slow progression from crutches to cane to shuffling… but he’s back running and is posting some fast times – he’s well on his way to qualifying for London 2012! Read more about Stuart…
Blair Miller: Blair’s athletic career has taken him full circle. He started out as a competitive racewalker over the 20km distance in the Canadian National Able-bodied program. Blair competed for Canada in the World Cup of Racewalking, Jeux de la Francophonie and the Pan Am Cup of Racewalking.
In 2003, Blair was approached while training about becoming a guide runner for visually impaired sprinter, Dustin Walsh. So, he switched gears from 20km and became a 400m guide runner. Read more about Blair…
Josh Vander Vies: Born without arms and legs, Josh Vander Vies is an active Canadian national team boccia player who competed in the 2004 Athens Paralympics and holds silver and bronze medals from the Americas Cup. A powerful inspirational speaker, Josh brings to corporate, government and community audiences the message that any obstacle can be shattered.
Josh is a recipient of the prestigious national Terry Fox Humanitarian Award. In 2006, he was elected to the International Boccia Committee as Athlete Representative by the boccia players of the world. Read more about Josh…
Andrea Bundon: Andrea is a doctoral candidate at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) and this blog is part of her research project on the use of the Internet by sports related social groups/movements. A longtime competitor in the sports of rowing and cross-country skiing, her interest in Paralympic sport started in 2008 when Courtney Knight and a coach spotted her on the ski trails and asked if she would be interested in learning to guide skiers with visual impairments. Read more about Andrea…
