Inspiration is just part of the story. Competing for a medal in Paris is another

In 2018, Leanne Taylor went over the handlebars while riding her mountain bike. She broke her back at the 11th thoracic vertebrae and became a paraplegic.

“I was 25 when I sustained a spinal cord injury and I thought that my life was over, just as it was beginning,” she wrote in a blog last year. “In an instant I had to say goodbye to my hobbies, my career and my home because none of these were accessible to me as a paraplegic woman.”

“The worst part was the way that the world reacted to me,” she continued. “Everyone who walked into my room burst into tears. My story was one of loss and sadness. I could not let it end this way. So, I started to fight to get my life back, to find joy again. It took a great deal of effort to wake up every day and commit to finding joy amidst all of the loss and sadness. That is until I found parasport. Slowly pushing a racing wheelchair around the track at the University of Manitoba, I found joy, I found confidence, I found myself.”

Paralympic triathlon qualifying rounds up with a bang in Montreal

Just to be clear, it didn’t take long for Taylor to “get her life back.” She returned to work for Medicure, a pharmaceutical company, and quickly turned her sights on Para triathlon. Just eight months after her accident, she was on the start line of the Paratriathlon American Championships in Florida. Three years later she would attend those championships again, no longer just happy to get to the finish line, but fighting for the win, taking second. This year that same event was renamed the Americas Paratriathlon Championships Miami – Taylor moved to the top of the podium this time around.

Six years after that fateful mountain bike accident, the 31-year-old from Winnipeg has more than “found herself.” In addition to that win in Miami, she took the gold medal at the World Para Series event in Swansea and, last weekend, finished second to the defending Paralympic champion, Kendall Gretsch. (Taylor beat Gretsch in Swansea.). That very much puts her in the conversation as a potential medal winner at this summer’s Paralympics in Paris.

“It’s been a really tight turn around between being injured and not knowing what my life would look like to competing for a podium,” Taylor said after the race in Montreal. “It’s been six years and a lot of ups and downs, but I am happy to be where we are right now.” 

Taylor’s incredible journey as a Para triathlete embodies both the inspirational and the competitive nature of the sport.

“I think triathlon is a sport that pushes you to extremes you didn’t know you could accomplish,” Taylor said. “You’re pushing as hard as you can – it hurts, you’re tired, you don’t want to do it, but you are also, simultaneously so proud that you are doing it. I think it gives you a sense of confidence and control – when you sustain an injury like mine, you really lose your sense of confidence and control. It made me able to see what I could do and accomplish.”

The journey hasn’t been easy. Figuring out the ins and outs of all the equipment required to compete at the highest level has been a challenge. Finding the time to train at the level required for a Paralympic medal contender has also proved difficult.

“I worked full time when I first started triathlon, and I’ve slowly been reducing the hours,” she said. “Just managing all the aspects of training and life, and adapting to life as a wheelchair user was a lot, but I think we’re in a great place now and we’re happy to be where we’re at.”

As a sign of just how much it takes to compete at this level, Taylor will take three months off work to prepare for the Games.

“I’m really excited for that to get a little more focussed and a bit more recovery,” she said. “I think it will be really beneficial for this last little bit of training.”

It’s that level of commitment that’s required to compete with the likes of Gretsch and Australian Lauren Parker in the PTWC division. (Parker was an aspiring pro triathlete who also found herself in a wheelchair after a bike accident when both tires blew out at the same time during a ride.)

“Sport helped me to rewrite the story of my life from a tragedy to a triumph,” Taylor wrote last year. “I truly believe that sport saved my life and mine is not the only life to have been saved by sport.”

As inspiring as Taylor’s story is, come race day in Paris she won’t be spending too much time worrying about serving as an inspiration. The goal will be to make the podium, to compete with the best.

Just 13 seconds separated Gretsch and Taylor at last weekend’s race in Montreal. She’s got a couple of months to find those precious few seconds, and she’s pulling out all the stops to do that.

Taylor bounced back from her accident and has found a lot more than joy, confidence and “herself.” She’s found a way to represent her country at the highest levels of her sport. The family and friends who walked into her room and burst in to tears? Many will be in Paris to watch her take on the world’s best para triathletes. No matter what, Taylor is looking forward to a great day.

“I think it’s going to be such a great opportunity to race in a really iconic location and, no matter how it shakes out, I have like 20 friends and family members flying to Paris for this race. It’s absurd. And so I think it’ll be hard not to enjoy that experience and realize that we’re just lucky to be there.”