London, ON - "Competing at Worlds has been a big goal for me." said Natalie Thirsk,100m and 400m sprinter on the Western Mustangs Track & Field team, and third-year Nursing student in the Faculty of Health Sciences, when we spoke to her about how she feels competing on an international stage.
Thirsk set her goal of being on the Canadian team for the World Para Athletics Championships back in September 2023, and now she can check it off her list. On May 29, 2023, Athletics Canada announced the 25-member team that would represent the Canadian Red and White at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, France from July 8 to 17, and it included Thirsk.
Thirsk will be competing in the T38 100m and 400m races. T38 is the classification used for athletes with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that can affect movement and muscle tone or posture. The cause of cerebral palsy and its effect on function vary greatly. But although it is a lifelong disorder with no cure, treatments can help greatly improve function. For Thirsk, it means she battles muscle spasticity and tightness in her arms and legs.
When asked how she got interested in track and field, Thirsk explained that in her childhood, she was the slowest runner and actually avoided running at all costs. She played ringette instead, a sport that made her disability less obvious.
After a Para discovery event in 2019 at the University of Alberta, Thirsk started training as a para-athlete, and decided to give track and field another go. Using her experience in other sports, lie soccer and judo, she found early success in para-athletics, breaking multiple Canadian records in the T38 100m, 200m and 400m during her first few years.
However, she pointed out some of the challenges with the track stopwatch, which acts like a hidden barrier for all people with disabilities because it does not accommodate for the disability. "People see me finishing last in a race but what they don't see are the Canadian records I'm setting or how I rank Top 8 in the world. The Clock only shows my disability, not my athleticism and accomplishments," Thirsk explained.
Thirsk is a second-generation Mustangs student athlete, and she acknowledged her father, Warren Thirsk, a former wrestler for the Western Mustangs and U SPORTS Champion in 1991, who has been pivotal in helping her develop her perseverance, grit, and determination. These are skills that have served Thirsk well throughout her sporting career, as she has learned to see the bigger picture, and to continue to push herself to set personal bests.
Thirsk joined the Western Mustangs Track & Field team in the fall of 2020. She expressed her gratitude to Vickie Croley, Head Coach for the Mustangs Track & Field team, as well as her teammates, for not only welcoming her with open arms but also supporting her, as she became one of the first para-athletes competing at U SPORTS. "Without my teammates and coaches, I would not be where I am today and I am grateful for the opportunity to acknowledge their impact on my successes."
Thirsk also emphasized the role of Mustangs Assistant Coach, Taylor Ehrhardt, for his support in adapting running and lifting techniques for her, as well as training plans, to help to accommodate the impact of her cerebral palsy. With the tournament around 5-weeks away, Thirsk has been working very hard with Ehrhardt, who is a former nine-time member of the Canadian national team.
Ehrhardt expressed great pride and happiness for Thirsk on her selection for the Canadian team. "She set a goal at the start of the year of making it to Paris and she did everything in her power to make that happen."
Ehrhardt, a three-time National Champion, explained what Thirsk can expect to encounter during the games in July. "Natalie is a very regimented individual which is great for a sport like track and field due to its repetitive nature. I personally was a bit more go with the flow, so I am able to try and guide her [to anticipate what to do if] something doesn't go as planned."
He also applauded Athletics Canada for their support and dedication towards their para-athletes, and said he held high hopes when asked about the talent and experience in this year's Canadian team, "I am excited to see how everyone performs because right now a lot of Canadian records are falling from [the athletes on] this team and it would be amazing to see Canada come away with more than their projected medal total."
Thirsk's goals for the upcoming meet are to push herself to run personal bests, and to finish in the top 8. These milestones are in-line with her greater goals of competing in the 2024 Paralympics, also in Paris. Given the timing of these international events, Thirsk is grateful for the cooperation and support from her Faculty, as well as her academic counselor, Denice Litzan.
The Western Mustangs will be cheering loudly for Natalie Thirsk and the entire Canadian team at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in July, and are purple and proud of Thirsk as she continues to accomplish and exceed her goals.
