Keely Shaw, 27, is from Midale, Saskatchewan and is representing Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Shaw won Canada’s first medal at the Paralympic Games by achieving bronze in the women’s C4 3,000 metre individual pursuit with a time of 48.342 seconds.
Keely’s parents are from Churchbridge (Toles and Chopty). Her paternal grandmother, Ingrid Toles, was a teacher in Churchbridge. Keely had been in Saskatoon since 2013 for school; now, she is ready to represent our nation in Japan.
The games take place between August 24th and September 5th, 2021. Shaw will focus on the individual pursuit on the track, and she will also be competing in the time trial and road race, both of which are road cycling events
When asked about what inspired her to focus on competing at the highest level of sport, Keely replied, “I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I dabbled in almost every sport available within 50km of my home town including soccer, volleyball, badminton, motocross, baseball, hockey and figure skating; however, I really fell in love with hockey.”
Shaw decided to play our national sport from a young age, around 10. She always wanted to go to the Olympics to play hockey, but life had other plans for her.
At the age of 15, Keely fell from her horse and broke a blood vessel in her brain, resulting in paralysis on the left side of her body. Through therapy, she eventually regained approximately 70% of its function; but she was no longer the hockey player she knew from before.
Shaw continued to play hockey for seven years even though she didn’t enjoy it as much due to how much it frustrated her. She found herself making comparisons to the player she once was.
One day in late 2014, Keely was approached while working out at the University by a fellow student who played wheelchair basketball. The student said she thought Shaw was classifiable for parasport, and Keely should come see her sport scientist if she was interested.
One thing led to another, and Keely decided to try out bike racing. She bought her first high quality road bike in 2016 as a graduation present to herself after finishing her undergraduate degree.
Shaw entered her first race in May of 2017. Speaking about the race, she said, “That day in 2017 was the first time since I had gotten hurt that I felt like an athlete again, felt like myself again. I knew I wasn’t going to give up that feeling, so I reached out to the Canadian Paralympic Committee, who put me in touch with Cycling Canada. I was invited out to a training camp, then to Nationals, and next thing I knew I was at the World Championships.”
Keely mentioned that a focus on balance in life has helped her throughout her journey. In addition to cycling, she is completing a PhD in Kinesiology. Shaw said, “While elite sport and higher education seem to be a lot for one person to take on, it’s really allowed me to look at things from a broader scope and to be more well-rounded as an academic, an athlete and as a person.”
This will be Shaw’s first Games. She said, “Honestly, I have no idea what to expect. However, I’m just focussed on putting in the work so that I can bring my best performances to Tokyo.” She affirmed that the team around her helps out tremendously, saying, “My support team is huge. I have my main coach, a strength and conditioning coach, a personal dietician, a team dietician, a mental trainer, we have mechanics, physios and a soigneur.”
Speaking about the health protocols in place, she mentioned that the athletes could only arrive in Japan a week before competition and they have to leave within 48 hours of our last event. The full “game plan” can be found here: https://gtimg.tokyo2020.org/image/upload/production/mlmqnsphtv47sw0ftwbl.pdf
As of right now, the athletes are not expecting any fans. However, this might change prior to the opening ceremonies. Speaking about her personal experience when racing, she said, “If I’m being honest, when I race I don’t really hear anything outside of my coach anyway, and I try to think of it as just another training ride on my home track in Milton, Ontario. No fans might help with that.”