A ROWER UNSTOPPABLE
Canadian national team hopeful was at the height of his rowing career when in an instant everything changed. In May of 2013 a phone call that was 6 years in the making finally came and with it an invitation to move to London Ontario to tryout for the Canadian Lightweight Men’s Rowing Team and pursue his Olympic dream of wearing the maple leaf in Rio 2016. Only 3 days into training with his new teammates a school bus ran a stop sign on the backroads of London where he was cycling on a training ride. His life would be changed forever.
Pinned under the back wheels, dragged 20 feet, pelvic bone crushed, a substantial part of his knee missing and given a 50% chance by the medics on scene that he would arrive at the hospital alive. 28 months after the accident, 10 surgeries later, bone transplants and skin grafts he qualified for the Rio 2016 Paralympics in Adaptive Rowing. Alongside his teammates he would go on to become a 2016 Paralympic bronze medalist. While it wasn’t the boat he envisioned competing in for Canada when he moved to London to pursue his Olympic dream he is proof that the journey is never a straight forward one. When he could have given up, he chose to keep fighting, he chose to not let anything stand in his way of realizing his dream of representing Canada. With less than a year to go until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games he is as focused as ever on qualifying for the Games and returning to the podium. He has applied to CAN Fund to help him on his journey.
The CRA does not allow us to earmark donations to a specific athlete. However, we can share with you the stories of the athletes who are applying to CAN Fund to give you a better understanding of the strength of character that lies within someone who is trying to be the best in the world. With every donation to CAN Fund you find out the name of the athlete supported and receive a tax receipt.
Our Adopt an Athlete program is $10,000. Right now when you adopt a Canadian athlete your donation will be matched by Eric and Vizma Sprott subsequently impacting the lives of two athletes on their journey to Tokyo.