Fortunately, both women had a caring support network at home and outside of
home. With her mother’s care and her brothers and sisters taking turns
massaging her leg every day, Wilma showed rapid improvement. By age nine, she
was out of her leg braces—braces that doctors thought she would need for the
rest of her life. That alone showed she was a fighter, but two other people
would enter her life and help the world take notice of her forever.
One was her high school basketball coach. With a hoop set up in the
backyard, Wilma began to train rigorously, strengthening her legs and improving
her stamina. It was enough to impress the school’s basketball coach, C.C. Gray.
He gave her a chance on the school’s team, and she more than made use of it.
She became an all-state player, and set a state record of 49 points in a single
game.
A university track coach saw her play in one of those games, and he knew he
wanted to train her for another career—as a sprinter. Rudolph began training
with the university team while she was still in high school. Her dedication,
together with that of three other girls, would result in them winning the 1956
Olympic gold medal in the 4x400 relay. She was only sixteen years old by then,
and this was only the beginning…
Chantal had mentors who made a difference as well. Gaston Jacques, a high
school physical education teacher, turned Chantal’s life around when he
convinced her to build her strength and stamina through swimming. This first
contact with sports and training gave her the drive to succeed that would later
impress someone else.
Pierre Pomerlau was a trainer at Laval
University in Quebec
City. When he met Chantal, he suggested she try
wheelchair sports. Using a borrowed wheelchair for her first race, her
beginnings were somewhat less impressive than those of Wilma Rudolph. She came
in dead last! But the idea of wheelchair racing grew on Chantal, and the idea
of becoming a professional athlete, something she had not previously
considered, inspired her. In Barcelona
in 1992, she competed in the Paralympic Games for the first time, and took home
two bronze medals for Canada.
And just like Wilma Rudolph’s situation, this was only a taste of what was to
come…