Husband and wife duo sitting in second
Their sailing support team is large and varied, and includes a marriage counsellor and their dog Zephyr.
Canadian couple John McRoberts and Jackie Gay are in silver-medal position heading into Saturday’s final race of sailing’s SKUD class at the Rio Paralympics, and their marriage, so far, seems to have weathered the week.
“Nearly there, one more race,” Gay said, with a laugh.
Canada’s Sonar team of Paul Tingley, Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes is third heading into their last race.
McRoberts and Gay married in 2010, but are making their first Paralympic appearance together — and sadly their last, as sailing has been removed from the program for the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
The couple thought long and hard before agreeing to team up.
“Wouldn’t you secondguess sailing with your partner?” McRoberts asked.
The Victoria couple enlisted the help of a sports psychologist and marriage counsellor, plus they have a photo of their Eurasian dog Zephyr — also the name for a gentle, westerly breeze — pinned up on the boat.
“He makes us both smile, so whenever we’re grumpy we just look at Zephyr and we both smile,” Gay said.
The two are ideally suited for the SKUD class, which requires one member to be of a high level of disability, and the other more mobile. The 54-year-old McRoberts, who’s been a quadriplegic since diving into shallow water at the age of 18, is the brains. He steers the boat and is the decisionmaker.
The 53-year-old Gay is “the brawn, she’s the gas pedal,” McRoberts said.
Gay was driving with her previous husband in Cameroon when a landslide sent their Land Rover careening over a cliff. Gay lost her left leg in the crash.
Despite being perfect sailing partners, “we had to think about it,” Gay said.
“We’re a good match, but it’s a risk, because it’s such an intense thing you’re putting yourselves through.”
The week has been bittersweet for all the Canadian sailors in what is essentially sailing’s Paralympic swan song. There is a chance it might be reinstated for 2024.