Former Canadian soldier moves from battlefield to regatta course at Beijing Paralympics
9/9/2008 17:59
Steve Daniel has every reason to feel unfair, but now he's happier than
ever.
Three years ago, the former Canadian Armed Forces sergeant was
paralysed from the waist down after a parachuting accident, now he's a
record-breaking athlete and is aiming for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games as
an adaptive rower, an entirely different battle.
"I felt very happy to be
named in the Canadian Paralympic rowing team. I know that the upcoming days will
be an thrilling experience. The Canadian athletes have done a good job in the
Beijing Olympics, and we are in Beijing hoping to pull off a good showing too,"
Daniel told Xinhua.
"It is special for the rowers to participate in this
level and especially when the event is making its first appearance in the
Paralympics, all the athletes are hoping to make marks with their very first
step.
"I am excited to represent my nation again at the most important
disabled sporting event in the world, and will do my best to make Canada proud,
especially the men and women in uniform who I know will be cheering the loudest
from their places of duty around the globe," the 34-year-old added.
Born in
South Canada's Sudbury on June 23, 1974, Daniel has had a long battle to get
where he is now.
Joining the army right out of high school at the age of 19,
Daniel served 14 years with the Royal Canadian Regiment based in Petawawa where
part of his duties included parachute instructing.
Three years ago while
serving his country, Daniel's future changed when he had a free-fall parachuting
accident while conducting a course. The day's jump was his 102nd.
"I was
falling too fast and didn't realize how fast I was going, " said Daniel,
recalling the day of his accident.
He tried to brake, but there wasn't enough
wind. So he landed on his rear end and fractured his vertebrae. "I knew as soon
as I landed that something had gone terribly wrong because I can't get up," he
said.
Daniel's life changed from that moment and it included a long healing
and rehabilitation period.
"It is really hard to cope with this disability
and it involves so many aspects," the Canadian said, "but I've always been a
positive person. Once I accepted the fact that I'm in a wheelchair to spend my
life, I just make it a challenge."
Daniel soon started looking for ways to
live an active lifestyle. He took up adaptive rowing last year and discovered
what many others already knew: The sport, which is making its Paralympic debut
in Beijing, presents a great opportunity for athletes with disabilities to test
their mettle.
"Adaptive rowing was good for me," Daniel said. "I just want a
sport that I could do without having to go away from my family."
"And the
rowing motion is easy on the shoulders and arms compared to the wheelchair
basketball, as well as being a great way to attain cardiovascular fitness. The
sense of freedom and speed on the water is also a great feeling."
He trained
hard both in an actual boat and on a rowing machine called ergometer, which saw
him make consistent progress, and after just eight months' work, Daniel won gold
and set the 1,000-metres Canadian record for arms-only athletes with a time of 4
minutes, 29.6 seconds in the Canadian indoor rowing championships.
He then
was invited to train with the national adaptive rowing team and in June he won
the men's arms-only seat on the team.
"Steve is the fastest arms-only rower
in Canada," said Daniel's coach Thomas Merritt. "I think he has the potential to
be the fastest athlete in his category in the world."
There's no water in
indoor rowing. Instead, competitors row on their machines, with their progress
on the one-kilometre "course" displayed on video screens.
He and his coach
must have worked hard to convert his indoor performance into a strong ability on
the water. Recently he placed second in a tough field at the US national
championships.
"That's not a trivial undertaking. But he has very good mental
focus. When he concentrates on something, he concentrates on something," Merritt
said.
Now Daniel has to balance his training as a top-flight athlete with his
education. After his accident, he enrolled in a three-year business
administration program at Cambrian College in Sudbury, his hometown.
If
everything proceeds according to plan, his training will lead him to another
university, where he will enter a program allowing him to focus on sports
administration.
Daniel also acts as president of his basketball club, and has
found both funds and games for it. He plays sledge hockey in a local team and
managed to raise US$6,000 he needed to buy his own boat for rowing.
"At the
moment of the accident, I never thought that I could be active again and even
this happy with my life. I tell my son many times that no matter what happens in
life, you can always find a way out," he said.
Xinhua
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