Emily Suchy won all three of her para-Nordic sit-ski races at the Canada Winter Games in Prince George, B.C., last week.
“It’s pretty amazing. I’m super stoked. I’m really happy,” she said on her return home to Revelstoke Monday morning. “It was a really fun week.”
Heading into the games, Suchy was unsure of what to expect. The Canadian para-Nordic community is a small one, and she normally competes against able-bodied athletes in races around B.C.
Her last major national competition was the Canadian National Championships in March 2013, where she won two gold and two silver, including wins over six-time Paralympian Colette Bourgonje.
In Prince George, Suchy raced against four other sit-skiers. They were a small group amongst the 2,400 athletes at the games. The huge closing ceremonies reminded her of the Hunger Games movies, she said.
The races were in the afternoon, which presented a challenge for Suchy, who is used to competing in the morning. “I tried to sleep in and relax in the morning,” she said. “Do some general race prep and telling myself there’s nothing I can do and make the best of however I’m feeling.”
She went into the competion aiming to podium in all of her races. In the end, she stood on top each time, easily topping the women’s field and posting times that were competitive with the men.
Suchy started her week on Monday, Feb. 26, with a gold medal in the 2.5 kilometre race, finishing more than two minutes ahead of runner-up Tanya Quesnel.
On Tuesday, Suchy raced to first in the 800 metre spring, finishing 20 seconds ahead of Quesnel.
Suchy capped off her week with another convincing win in the five-kilometre race on Thursday, finishing in 18:20.8 — almost 3:40 faster than Quesnel.
Suchy has Perthes Syndrome, which limits the mobility in her hips, preventing her to compete in regulard cross-country skiing races. She took up ski-skiing as a way to get out on the trails with her friends.
Unfortunately, this is the highest level Suchy will be able to compete at because she doesn’t meet the guidelines for international competition.
“My strength and flexibility is too great to fit these guidelines,” she said. “I tried to argue against it because I clearly can’t standing-ski. I fall between the cracks between able bodied and para-Nordic, which is really frustrating.”
She said she wants to continue in the sport, but isn’t sure because of her inability to move up to bigger competition.
“To really perform at a high level you need to go outside the country,” she said. “I haven’t quite decided what I’m going to do with it next year. I think I’m going to switch my focus to another sport — probably biking this summer.”
Suchy’s next competition is the Canadian championships in Thunder Bay, Ont., starting March 11.
