Para-athlete hoping for return of stolen specialized wheelchair
Track competitor unable to train after customized racer taken from parkade
With competitions shut down for the foreseeable future, Jessica Frotten says the pandemic was her time to train uninterrupted for the Paralympics.
That is, until her wheelchair racer was stolen.
“I took it as, hey, I have a pretty unique opportunity to train here with no real competition,” she said.
But then on June 11 she found her specialized wheelchair used to train for track and field events was missing from her building’s parkade.
“2020 has been shit,” she said laughing.
The chance to train without competitions was a relief after sustaining an injury in a past event. In 2018 she took part in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. During the 1500 metre race, a fellow athlete crashed into her while rounding a corner.
“This freakin’ chick,” she said. “She takes me right out. This whole stadium, I don’t know how many people were there but it was packed, but there was this collective ‘Oooh!’”
The injury made her pull out of the rest of the Games.
Frotten, originally from Whitehorse, has lived in Regina since 2010 when the First Steps Wellness Centre opened its doors. A car crash, just before Christmas in 2009, left her with a broken back and a spinal cord injury.
While recovering and taking part in a spinal cord injury recovery program in the city, Frotten was looking for ways to stay in shape so she took part in a track meet. Opting to try wheelchair sprints, she realized the sport offered something she was looking for.
“I’m a competitive person and it took off from there,” she said.
Frotten was part of the 2013 Canada Games in Sherbrooke, Que., and the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
“Representing your country is such an honour but getting to do that in front of a home crowd is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” she said. “Our bus got a police escort because, you know, Toronto traffic or whatever, but I felt like the Queen!”
In 2016, she had her sights on the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“I missed the team by the hair on my chinny chin chin,” she said. “It was bummer.”
Which is why 2020 in Tokyo was looking to be her best chance at qualifying for the games.
“What I was not bargaining for was some garage bandit to bust in and steal my racer,” she said.
Insurance might pay for part of a replacement but if not, and a new racer has to be built, it will take at least three months for it to be delivered.
Her parents set up a Gofundme to help cover the cost of the new racer and the travel required to be properly fit for it.
Still, Frotten would rather not wait and lose anymore time.
“I’m still holding out that it’ll come back to me. I haven’t ordered a new one,” she said. “I just want it returned. Please.”