'Dream come true': Sask. Para swimmer reflects on bronze medal win in Paris
Shelby Newkirk placed 3rd in 100m backstroke S6 at the 2024 Paris Paralympics
Shelby Newkirk beamed as she held up the bronze medal she won at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
Newkirk placed third in the 100-metre backstroke S6. She completed the race in one minute and 22 seconds.
"That 100 backstroke was always in my mind," said Shelby Newkirk, a Saskatoon Para swimmer.
Newkirk's best events were on Days 1 and 10. On Day 1, she placed fourth in the women's 50-metre freestyle S6. It was then, Newkirk said, that she knew she had a chance to medal.
"I always try to turn off my brain and just let my body do what it does, because we've swam the same length thousands of times. Now we just had to trust the training and go for it."
Paris was Newkirk's second time competing at the Paralympics. She also qualified for Tokyo in 2021.
She won world championships in the 100-metre backstroke S6 both in 2022 and 2023, following her fourth place finish in the same event at the 2021 Paralympics.
Placing at the Paralympics
Winning bronze was a big moment for the 28-year-old. It was her first Paralympic medal.
"I hit the wall and I think it was kind of like a flood of relief. I did it," said Newkirk.
"I don't think it really set in at the moment that I'm now a Paralympic medallist. At the time, I was like 'I did it. I got on the podium, I can finally rest.'"
Newkirk was joined in Paris by two fellow Saskatoon swimmers and her coach, Ryan Jones.
Newkirk's parents were also in the stands cheering her on. She said her parents had a large part in her success, including driving her to and from many 5 a.m. swim practices.
"It's a very surreal experience to realise that all her hard work was now coming to this in the pool, this moment," said Kathy-Jo Newkirk, Shelby's mother.
"There was just pride in this great moment to be a part of."
The bronze medal is partially made from a piece of the Eiffel tower. The Paralympic medals have the location, year and event titles written out in Braille.
For Shelby, the medal is about so much more than securing a spot on a podium. She said it's a physical reminder of the effort it's taken to get her to this point.
"It's so much more than just a one minute and 20-some second race, it really is an accumulation of all our training, all our hard work throughout the years," said Shelby.
"It just means so much to have this piece to remind me of all the things that we've done, all the hard work that's gone into it, all the tears, all the sweat."
A sense of belonging
Shelby, who get didn't to experience much of the social aspect of the Paralympics in 2021 due to the pandemic, said a large part of Paris was being surrounded by other inspiring athletes.
"I've spent over half my life now with my disability and everywhere I go, I'm often the only one in a chair, often the only one that has this exact lived experience. But when you're in the village, the majority of people have a disability," said Shelby.
"To finally be in a place where everybody just understands and it just truly feels like you belong and everybody looks like you … it's definitely an incredible experience."
Shelby is looking forward to a well-deserved break from swimming now that she's back home, before resuming training. She already has plans to compete at world's next September.
Shelby said her main hope is that the Paralympics can receive the same amount of recognition as the Olympics.
"The 'para' in Paralympics stands for parallel. They're meant to be equal games," said Shelby.
"Hopefully one day it's just common that everybody says the Olympics and Paralympics and people truly treat [them] as equals."
Canada brought home 10 gold medals, nine silver and 10 bronze from the Paris Paralympics.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Saskatoon Morning