Summary: Everybody reacts the same way when watching Paralympics for the first time: “Those people are amazing!” The more they watch, the deeper the appreciation. “ Didja see how fast that guy swam the 100 free, and he only has one leg! How did that completely blind woman log such a blazing triathlon?” It never fails. If we like the Olympics for the athletes’ stories, we love the Paralympics for the same reason. Which brings us to Cindy Ouellet. Prepare to feel like a slacker: Ouellet is dominant in winter AND summer para sports, finishing a PhD in biomedical engineering, she’s a bilingual advocate for people with disabilities, LGBTQ2 people, mental health and anti- bullying causes, she’s developing a university course, and to top it all off, she’s like Mike Holmes with the power tools. Build it, Fix it, no problem. That’s not to say it’s all smooth sailing for the Captain of Canada’s Wheelchair basketball team. Cindy has suffered mental and physical setbacks that would knock anyone off their game. But we can safely add ‘determined’ to Cindy’s laundry list of admirable attributes. Just what the team needs, rolling into Tokyo. A little while before the Paralympics began, Anastasia caught up with Cindy at her home in Quebec City.
