Moose Jaw’s Marie Wright set for Paralympic Games
For most athletes who reach the Olympics or Paralympics, there's a moment of utter surprise and elation when it's finally revealed they've reached that level or when they finally crack the qualifying standard.
For one Moose Jaw athlete, well, it was almost a foregone conclusion. When an individual is literally one of the best athletes in their sport at the most recent world championships, odds are pretty good the national team will come calling for the pinnacle of athletic events the following year. And so, it was inevitable that Marie Wright was welcomed to Team Canada's Paralympic Games wheelchair curling team.
“I had an idea I'd get a shot at it, but I still had to go to the summer camps and do well,” Wright said of the qualifying process. “It's really overwhelming! As soon as we got that clothing, you see all that maple leaf stuff and you put it on and you're wearing that maple leaf on your back, you're just so proud to be representing your country.” The Moose Jaw Ford Curling Centre honoured Wright with a special send-off on Jan. 31 during Curling in Saskatchewan Day. Close to 100 people packed the Great Western Lounge for the event, which featured speeches from various dignitaries and congratulations for Wright across the board.
Wright was a part of the Canadian team that finished fifth overall at the 2017 World Championships in Gangneung, South Korea last March. She recorded the second-best percentage among seconds at the event, curling 60 per cent overall. That result and performance gave her an inside track, when it came to cracking the team for Pyeongchang, but didn't make for an easy road over the last year. “It's hours practicing on the ice, but then you're in the gym and doing weights to get your strength up so you can get the take-out weight they're striving for,” Wright said. “So, it's a lot of hard work... We've had camps every two weeks and went to the Continental Cup and were able to curl on the arena ice; next week we're going to Winnipeg and will be training against the U.S., so it'll be nice to play another national team and see how we do against them.” Based on how her game looks at the moment, Wright is confident she'll be able at least to reach the level she was at during World’s last spring – and ideally have just as much impact.
“I think I'm pretty strong and it seems like the more pressure I'm under, I feel a little stronger,” she said. “And our skip is quite confident in our abilities, so I think we're going to do okay... I'm playing lead this time, and that sets up the end. It's really huge in wheelchair curling to get the end set up, so I'm looking forward to that.”
The entire Paralympic experience is something Wright is looking forward to, with being part of Team Canada. As as a whole, it’s something she's expecting to be exceptional.
“It will be cool, because we're all staying in the same village and we'll all be together,” she said. “The hockey team will be staying at the same hotel we are when we first get over there, and they're going to be going to the same rink facility, so it'll be neat to see them all.” And then, of course, there's the games themselves – gold is the goal, without a doubt, but the field will be as tough as ever.
“It's been there in the back of our minds, some people have been questioning it because we have a new skip this year,” Wright said. “But we feel we have a strong team and that we're going to have a good shot at it.
And to win it all?
“I don't even know if I could describe it, I'd have butterflies big time and it would be so exciting; I don't know if I'd even be able to believe it,” she said with a laugh. Wright leaves for Pyeongchang on Mar. 1st, with the opening ceremonies on Mar. 9th.