Oak Bluff’s Leanne Taylor is back in town after recently winning a bronze medal for Team Canada at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France.
Taylor moved to Canada from England when she was 10 and grew up in Wasaga Beach, Ontario. Wasaga Beach is a small community just north of Toronto with lots of outdoor activities, which Taylor does in her spare time, such as hiking, skiing, swimming, biking, and playing volleyball.
Taylor moved to Winnipeg in 2015 after finishing her undergraduate degree from Western University to work as a sales representative for a local pharmaceutical company, Medicure Inc., which she still works for today as a Compliance Officer. Taylor moved from Winnipeg to Oak Bluff in 2021 and still lives there today.
Taylor was paralyzed from the waist down in a mountain biking accident on Bison Butte Trail in southwest Winnipeg in 2018. She broke her back in the 11th thoracic vertebrae.
From there, Taylor wanted to get involved in the Paralympics as quickly as possible, as she comes from an athletic background. She started getting into paratriathlon, a sprint race consisting of 750 m swimming, 20 km cycling, and 5 km running stages.
“I was injured in 2018, so qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics was a long shot, but my chances improved with the delay in the games due to COVID-19, which allowed me more time to get stronger and catch up to the competition,” said Taylor. “Unfortunately, I missed qualifying by just one spot, which was tough, but it motivated me to work even harder.”
In September, Taylor’s motivation propelled her to qualify for Team Canada at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, France.
“To make it to the 2024 Paralympics and represent Canada was such an honour,” said Taylor. “Since I’ve been injured, I’ve always dreamed of competing at that level, and being there in Paris as part of Team Canada, with 26 members of my family and friends watching, made it all worth it.”
Taylor competed in the Paratriathlon (PWTC) event at the Paralympics and won a bronze medal for Canada with a time of 1:12:11, narrowly edging out a Spanish competitor by seven seconds.
“Competing in Paris was absolutely surreal. The energy, the crowd, and just being surrounded by so many amazing athletes was unforgettable. Winning the bronze medal was the icing on the cake. It was always my goal to qualify for Paris, but it only recently became my goal to podium after some significant gains I made this past offseason. To achieve that is something I’ll never forget, and to be able to do it in such an iconic city with all my family and friends watching who helped me get there was beyond amazing.”
A few weeks ago, Taylor was honoured at the Manitoba Legislature by Midland MLA Lauren Stone.
“I was really touched to be honoured at the legislature. That was my first time meeting Lauren Stone. She is such a kind person, and you can really tell she cares. It’s amazing to feel that kind of support and encouragement from your community. It reminded me just how many people have been cheering me on throughout my journey.”
Taylor also just got back from Philadelphia after completing her first marathon, which is something she wants to keep doing and push herself. Beyond that, she’s been giving lots of talks in the local community in Oak Bluff and Sanford with various organizations, schools, and charities.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to share my story and make sure that every little boy and girl out there knows that regardless of their ability or disability if they work hard, they can do really great things.”
