Paralympic bronze medalist Keely Shaw on how cycling saved her life

Turning Point with Priya Sam

Keely Shaw was the first Canadian Paralympian to win a medal at the Tokyo Paralympics but her journey to this bronze medal wasn't easy. After some dark times dealing with an eating disorder, she credits cycling with saving her life.
At the age of fifteen, Keely was an elite hockey player with Olympic dreams when she was injured in a freak accident after falling off her horse. She ended up in hospital in an induced coma and when she eventually came out she had lost mobility in the left side of her body. While most of that came back over time, she wasn't able to play hockey at the same level.
Over the next few years, Keely was hospitalized for an eating disorder and she describes these years as some of the darkest times in her life. That all changed after a major turning point in 2017 when someone suggested she consider competing in para-sport. She chose cycling and after her first race, she says her "inner-athlete was alive and well again." She began training for competition and a few short years later, she's on a new track with a renewed sense of hope.
A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season! You can learn more about Fanshawe's post-graduate programs here: FanshaweC.ca/postgrad