Summer success shows Canadian Para athletes are primed for Paris

It was the elephant in the room many across the Canadian Paralympic Committee framework — and certainly the Canadian athletes — didn't want to talk too much about in the lead up to the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.

That the heavy restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic might dramatically affect athlete preparation and performance for those Games. 

Athletes didn't want to make it seem like they were making excuses. Support staff didn't want to get in the athlete's heads about how drastically derailed their training had become. 

So on they went, preparing in the most challenging circumstances while trying to remain resilient, focused and in peak form. 

Canadian Paralympians won just 21 medals at the Paralympics in Tokyo, the lowest total since 1972 and a far cry from the dominance in the 1990s and early 2000s when Canadians brought home upward of 90 medals per Games.

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"I guess I'm realizing the pandemic really affected our Paralympic sport and our preparation for Tokyo," Catherine Gosselin-Després, the CPC's executive director of sport, told CBC Sports. "Some of the restrictions definitely affected their preparation."

Gosselin-Després, who has been in her role since 2013, said CPC staff were doing everything they could throughout the pandemic to keep athletes focused and motivated but that it wasn't always easy. 

"They were already frustrated enough with conditions and we were trying to keep that in a box and on the side and stay positive," she said. 

The extent to which the restrictions affected performance in Tokyo could only truly be realized in contrast and comparison with other international competitions. 

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