Canadian flagbearer was inspired by legend’s shoes

The glint of U.S. sprinter Michael Johnson’s gold shoes at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics played a significant role in Priscilla Gagne’s dream of becoming an athlete on the world’s largest stage.

Gagne, who has retinitis pigmentosa, a visual impairment affecting her central vision, was 10 during the 1996 Atlanta Games. Standing very close to the TV, she could make out the white stripes of the track lanes, the “whitish blobs” of runners going around it, and athletes’ faces during close-ups. Her aunt pointed out that Johnson wore gold spikes.

“I remember thinking: ‘Wow, he’s gutsy to wear gold running shoes. I hope he wins just because that would be horrible if he didn’t and he wore gold shoes,’ ” Gagne said with a laugh. “That was my little 10-year-old thought, and he won [both the 200 and 400 metres]. And seeing the smile on his face.

“So that inspired me. That was my start. I thought I’d go to the Olympics as a runner.”

Gagne’s introduction to Paralympic sports when she was 15, however, was a game-changer, she said.

Now one of the world’s finest Para judo athletes, Gagne will carry Canada’s flag into Tuesday’s opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics.

The 35-year-old from Sarnia, Ont., is ranked No. 2 in the world at 52 kilograms. She finished fifth in her Paralympic debut in Rio in 2016, and in 2018 became the first Canadian woman to climb the medal podium at the Para judo world championships, winning bronze.

Gagne couldn’t march in the Rio opening ceremony or the two Parapan Am Games in which she competed and won silver. The ceremonies always conflicted with having to make weight.

So she was already thrilled at the prospect of marching. Carrying the flag, she said, is a huge honour.

“For me it represents unity within diversity, it represents strength and resilience, and it represents a hope for something greater than what we have,” she said.