THUNDER BAY – Four years ago, Gabrielle Hannusch cheered her sister Roberta on at the 2016 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Corner Brook, Nfld.
In 2020 the roles are reversed.
This time Gabrielle is the athlete and Roberta is the ambassador.
On Thursday Gabrielle Hannusch took to the track at Chapples Park, competing in the 100-metre and 200-metre snowshoe race competition and said she’s glad all her hard work is finally starting to pay off.
“It is really exciting because everyone is in my hometown and they get to see how beautiful it is and they get to see my home track which my teammate and I have been training on since November,” she said.
“This is my first nationals. I watched my sister in Newfoundland in 2016 for her nationals. It was fun watching her, but I didn’t get to see how it is as an athlete. Now I do.”
Despite chilly temperatures, Hannusch managed to make her way around the 200-metre track in second place in her heat on Thursday afternoon.
It was so worth it, she said.
“It is amazing. Everyone is fast. The competition is much faster than I’m used to,” said Hannusch, who will also compete in the 400-metre event.
Teammate Tyler Rissanen said he’s super excited to hit the track, a snow covered driving range at the municipally owned park.
“I’m excited to be competing in front of my home crowd. You never know what the competition is going to be like and it’s fun to meet new people from other cities,” Rissanen said.
“Everybody’s gotten to know each other now.”
Getting to this point hasn’t been easy.
“It’s lots of training and lots of hard work,” said the 17-year-old St. Patrick High School student, who is racing in the 100-metre and 200-metre races.
“Yesterday was better than I thought; today not so much.”
Newfoundland and Labrador’s Philip Beales was also part of the snowshoeing event, and said his 100-metre preliminary races went great.
He’s thrilled to be part of the 2020 Games, adding they’ve helped him turn around an important part of his life.
“It feels good. I’ve changed my nutrition and been eating healthy,” Beales said.
“I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, meats and proteins.”
He’s also been spending several nights in the gym each week, adding it hasn’t been easy, but the effort has paid off in Thunder Bay.
“I’m going to do my best, run really fast and stay in my lane. I can either win gold, silver or bronze. But if I don’t win a medal, that’s OK. At least I did my best and had fun.”
