PATH TO PARIS: USask graduate pursues the podium at Paralympics

In a sport in which testing your mettle in the race for medals comes down to fractions of a second, the graduate of the University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) College of Education has learned to expect the unexpected and believes she is better prepared for the Paralympics this time around. Three years ago, Newkirk narrowly missed out on the medals her premier event, the 100m backstroke S6, when she finished fourth in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.

“It was definitely a goal of mine in Tokyo when I got fourth and it ended up being a lot harder of an experience than I expected, so I think I am more prepared now,” said Newkirk, part of USask’s graduating class of 2022 and a member of the Saskatoon Lasers Swim Club. “I am in a lot better place now and my training is going great and I am really excited for it. I can’t control what anybody else does, but I just want to show up and have my best race and post the best time that I can and see what happens. In Tokyo the top three all broke records, so I think it will be an amazing race again and I am super excited to see how it is going to go. I am excited to get on the blocks that day and just race my heart out.”

Since finishing fourth at the Paralympics in 2021 with a time of 121.79 seconds, Newkirk has set world championship event record times by finishing first in 2022 (120.96) and in 2023 (120.62), when she beat each of the three medalists from the last Paralympics.

“Definitely I’ve had a couple of good years,” said Newkirk. “I was able to defend my championship title at worlds last year and I was also able to get bronze in the 50m free. So it is really exciting to see how each stroke has come along since Tokyo when I got fourth in (100m) back and ninth in (50m) free and didn’t make the finals, so to now be able to be able to get gold and bronze in those two events is exciting. Training is going great and I have an awesome coach who will be in Paris with me as well, so it is going to be a really exciting summer.”

Newkirk will have plenty of supporters at the Paris Paralympics this time around, after spectators were not allowed to attend the events in Tokyo in 2021 due to the pandemic. But this year, Newkirk’s father Dr. Rex Newkirk (BSA'92, MSc'96, PhD'02) – an associate professor and Ministry of Agriculture Endowed Research Chair in Feed Processing Technology in USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources – and mother Kathy-Jo (a former USask Huskie women’s basketball player) will be there to cheer her on, along with her Saskatoon club coach Ryan Jones and her trainer Tyler Van Impe-Selinger (BSKin'11, MPT'14), who is also an alumnus of USask.

“My parents had planned to go to Tokyo but weren’t able to, so it will be great to have them in the stands for the entire event this time,” said Newkirk, a former Sask Sport Female Athlete of the Year and Swimming Canada Female Para-Swimmer of the Year. “And it will be great to also have my coach on deck with me throughout the competition. We have a great teamwork dynamic and it will be great to see how that plays out. And my trainer here from Saskatoon will also be in the stands with his girlfriend, so it is really cool to have all these people who have supported me all these years, be able to come with me and experience this with me as well.”

Preparing for the Paralympics has largely become a full-time job for Newkirk, with training and travelling to competitions, making working full-time as a teacher out of the question for the time being.

“My training is definitely a full-time gig, so it would be too hard to start in a classroom and then have to miss so much time with travel and events,” said Newkirk, who began para-swimming in 2013 after being diagnosed with dystonia, that began with the loss of use of her right leg. “I do coach three days a week right now with our Lasers Swim Club which is a lot of fun, and I am the program co-ordinator for our Para program, so I get to work with a bunch of up-and-coming young para-swimmers and help them on their journeys. And I have two businesses that I run on the side as well.”

Newkirk’s passion for para-swimming is matched by her creativity in crafting hand-made stuffed toys and other items through her Crafty Prairie Girl home-based business, as well as increasing accessibility with hand tools and items with her AccessibleLife online shop.

“I make little crochet animals to make people smile and its great because I can do it while travelling for competitions,” said Newkirk. “Crochet has become such a big part of my life, but it got to the point where I couldn’t hold the crochet hook, so I started making my own ergonomic crochet hook handles, and I also have a shop called AccessibleLife where I make more accessible items. So those are a couple of home-based businesses that I can do on my own time and that work well with my schedule.”

Newkirk is scheduled to fly to France on August 13 and will compete in the 50-metre freestyle S6 on Aug. 29, the 100m freestyle S6 on September 4, and her premier event, the 100m backstroke S6, on Sept. 7, with the closing ceremonies to follow on Sept. 8.

“I am just super excited for this opportunity,” said Newkirk, who will be joined by Saskatoon swim club teammates Nikita Ens (BSc'11) – also a USask graduate – and Hannah Oullette in competing in the Paralympics. “There were so many things that we missed out on the first time at the Paralympics. And we have so many Saskatchewan athletes going this time, so it will be really exciting.”