Thirsk not putting limits on lofty goals

Natalie Thirsk, a para athlete, has become a Canadian record holder in three short years. Her cerebral palsy doesn’t define her, but she’s a passionate advocate for persons with disabilities. Will she one day compete at the Paralympics?

Natalie Thirsk at the 2023 Para Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile last fall. (Photo: Canadian Paralympic Committee).

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Natalie Thirsk cannot sprint toward every one of her goals. Some finish lines, like her advocacy for her fellow para-athletes, will take longer to cross.

But it’s a marathon well worth the effort.

“Sport is important. It helps people find ability within their disability and understand that their disability is not the limit,” the Western University track and field student-athlete explained. “In every meet, in every competition, it’s important to show people that para-athletes can compete at the highest levels and can succeed in sport.”

Thirsk, 21, is aiming to prove that point by achieving her highest level, looking to push her record-setting times further and represent Team Canada at the 2024 Paralympics.  

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There was a time, not that long ago, that Thirsk didn’t want anyone to know. In fact, there was a time, also not that long ago, when she didn’t know herself.

Thirsk was an athlete from go, as her speed was apparent on the youth soccer field. But when she went from the fastest girl in class to the slowest in Grade 6, she knew something was different about her body.

That’s when her parents first explained that she had cerebral palsy (CP).

“I’m thankful they didn’t tell me earlier,” the Edmonton native explained. “I learned not to use my CP as an excuse, and to never play the victim. I really believe in that.”

Even after her parents revealed the truth, Thirsk didn’t feel the need to reveal it to others: “I wasn’t going to tell everyone.”

To her, CP shouldn’t matter. She was a member of the team. They were all equal teammates. CP was a label that she didn’t want – not yet, anyway.

She ‘hid’ her disability in sports like ringette. But what was impossible to hide was the fact that she was a natural-born runner – and it would be her excellence on the track that allowed her to embrace CP.

“I used to hate track and field, because it was the one sport where I was slow. Growing up, I was the athletic kid. So, to be last in your races, track and field was embarrassing. It was an adjustment acknowledging my CP and not pretending that it doesn’t exist,” Thirsk said.

“As I’ve been running in para-athletics, I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable telling people about my CP. My CP is more of an invisible disability, except when running. It has been interesting embracing it as my identity.”

Wanting to pursue track in university, she emailed schools across the country asking if they would train a para-athlete. She got only two responses – from Lethbridge and Western. Given that her dad, Warren Thirsk, was a former Mustangs wrestler and CIS university champion, the choice was easy.

She was headed east to become a Western Mustang.

(Photo: Canadian Paralympic Committee).

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Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. CP is the most common physical disability in childhood, impacting two out of every 1,000 children annually in Canada.

Symptoms vary. One person with severe CP might need to use special equipment to walk or might not be able to walk at all, while another person with mild CP might only walk a little awkwardly or be largely unnoticed. 

For Thirsk, her CP manifests itself in numerous ways: Spasticity. Muscle pain. And, perhaps most importantly for a runner, her lactic hits differently.

When you hear athletes talk about the lactate threshold, they’re referring to the point during all-out exercise when lactate and/or lactic acid builds up in the bloodstream faster than the body removes it. Once you pass that point, the amount of lactic acid in your muscles increases exponentially and results in a burning sensation.

With regular training, runners can improve their ability to tolerate and clear lactic acid from their muscles, allowing them to run faster and longer without much discomfort.

For runners with CP, however, that challenge is greater, as their muscles are working harder, and less efficiently, leading to an increased buildup of lactic acid. This leads to faster fatigue and greater discomfort.

“The CP manifests differently, but it’s made me tough,” said Thirsk. “I’ve been able to adapt and cope. It’s made me a better athlete because I’m not afraid to push myself and feel pain while training, or racing, because that’s just normal.”

In Fall 2020, she arrived on Western’s campus during a COVID year. She wasn’t yet classified as a para-athlete, so she trained in hopes of eventual classification and competition.

For para-athletes, classification is a two-step process that includes a medical review and an observation in competition.

Para-athletics is open to athletes with a range of impairments, with an event open to 10 eligible impairment types at the Paralympic Games. As a T38 female, for example, Thirsk can compete in the 100m, 400m, and/or the long jump.

In 2021, Mustangs assistant coach Taylor Ehrhardt, a three-time national champion in decathlon and long jump, started working with Thirsk. Running. Lifting. Training. All of it is focused on elevating her performance and mitigating the impact of CP. 

He was new to coaching and had never worked with para-athletes; she was new to track and field competition at an elite level. The pair have been learning and growing together since.

“Over that first year, we learned how her body reacts to fully training. We learned about how much rest she needs. We have built on that,” Ehrhardt said. “Each para-athlete is unique, even within the same category, as their needs on training and rest can be wildly different.”

The CP isn’t an excuse to avoid hard work, both coach and athlete point out. Thirsk gets pushed just as hard as Ehrhardt’s other runners, and while her rest breaks may be a bit longer to address her lactic challenges, her coach sets high standards.

“Natalie knows her body so well. She understands whether she’s sore from a particularly heavy lift or if it’s the CP causing it. That makes things a lot easier for a coach when you have an athlete who can articulate such specific feedback on how their body is doing. And she feels it if something is even just a little bit off.”

In 2021, Thirsk started her para-athletics career by breaking the Canadian record in the T38 100m, 200m, and 400m events. She still holds those records, improving the 100m mark to 14.03s at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the 200m mark to 29.88s at the 2023 St. Albert Challenge, and the 400m mark to 1:08:22 at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships.

“She’s had a lot of success – and she’s getting better every year,” Ehrhardt said.

Whether competing for Western or for her hometown Edmonton Royals Track and Field Club, Thirsk is thankful for her family, coaches, partner, and teammates – a support system that keep her motivated year-round.

Even with the weight of representing her country in national competition, she feels pressure only from within.

“I put more pressure on myself internally than from external sources, and I always have,” she said. “But when you're wearing the Canadian flag, when you have that maple leaf on your chest, I don't feel stressed. I’m always so excited and so thankful for the opportunity. You can view it as stress and pressure to perform, or you can view it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I see it as so exciting and such an honour, and then I just do my best.

“Truthfully, it’s like any other race. I’m still running 400 metres. If you break it down to that, it gets easier. Any time I step forward onto the track, there’s a lot of excitement.”

(Photo: Canadian Paralympic Committee).

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Para sport dates to the early 20th century when injured soldiers from the First World War participated in sports activities as part of their rehabilitation process.

In 1948, the first international competition for athletes with disabilities was held in Stoke Mandeville, England. Known as the Stoke Mandeville Games, this event was organized by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a German neurologist who worked with spinal cord injury patients. The games were initially focused on wheelchair sports, including basketball and athletics.

The Stoke Mandeville Games eventually evolved into the Paralympic Games, which were first held in Rome in 1960 with 400 athletes from 23 countries. In 1968, Canada competed in its first Paralympic Games in Tel Aviv, Israel, sending 25 athletes and winning 19 medals.

That said, para-athletic competitors are few and far between at Canadian universities, with maybe three or four classified athletes across the country actively competing in track and field. At both the USPORTS and OUA levels, there aren’t systems, supports, or even coaching available to develop para-athletes.

“I’m thankful that Western trains me and includes me; our team is extremely inclusive,” Thirsk said. “I’m thankful that USPORTS and OUA lets me compete, because it’s an amazing experience, for sure. But there are still not a lot of official opportunities for growth.”

In competition, she usually gets one run – an “instant timed final,” in a way, as there are never enough para-athletes to compete in heats. Her run is added into a heat with able-bodied competitors, so she’s able to compete alongside a group, but her points don’t count towards the team score.

“That’s the main thing that I’m trying to change – finding a way to allow para-athletes to contribute to team points. If that happens, maybe that hopefully incentivizes more universities to train para-athletes. There aren’t a lot of opportunities to train at a high level,” she explained. “I’m lucky to be a Team Canada athlete, but I wouldn’t be on that team without Western, without my coaches and my teammates creating that opportunity.”

While sporting establishments at all levels are still catching up to the needs of para-athletes, some progress is being made.

In January, the Canadian Paralympic Committee announced that Canadian Paralympians will be financially rewarded for medals they win at the Paralympic Games, starting this summer at Paris 2024. That means Canadian Paralympians will now receive $20,000 for winning gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze – amounts equal to those of Canadian Olympians.

The new funding brings Canada in line with other countries, like the United States, Australia, and France, which give equal payouts for medal performances.

“People hear ‘disability’ and think ‘can’t’ – can’t drive, can’t have relationships, can’t do this, or can’t do that. There are all of these stereotypes that need to be challenged,” she said.

“I’m passionate about advocating for people with disabilities. Leading by example and competing in USPORTS, even knowing that I’m going to come in last out there, I hope that there are people out there with disabilities watching me represent them at a high level.”

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Thirsk always wanted to work in health care. Her dad is a doctor, and she has an innate need to help people, so there was no question about going into nursing when she arrived at Western.

“As a kid with a disability, going in for medical procedures, I remember the good nurses and I remember the not-so-good ones, too. I decided I wanted to be that good nurse, because they can make a really big difference.”

Her desk at home is surrounded with motivational quotes, a list of life goals staring her in the face: Graduate Nursing with a GPA greater than or equal to 3.8. Remain a carded para-athlete. Run 400m in less than 68 seconds. Finish with all grades above 80%. Compete at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.

That last one stops her every time.

“I’m still realizing that one is a possibility. It’s been a fast three years. I’m excited for the possibilities.”

The Team Canada Paralympics selection process is competitive. Between now and then, she’ll not only need to record new personal bests, but she’ll also need a bit of luck along the way. While exact numbers are uncertain, there will be between six and eight female slots on the track and field team this season.

She has training camps in April, a European tour and Nationals in June. The Paralympic team will be named in late July or early August.

Yes, that timing is as tight as you think, with the Paris Paralympics starting Aug. 28.

“Track has just highlighted things that I already knew about myself, like my desire to be the best possible version of myself, my determination, my hard work ethic. I always had those traits, but track has highlighted that,” Thirsk said. “That’s the reason I’m competing at such a high level in such a short amount of time – because, honestly, training for three years and having a shot at going to the Paralympics is insane.”