'There's no reason I can't': Petawawa sprinter prepares for Paralympic Games in Tokyo
Austin Ingram is one of the fastest men in Canada, and he’s aiming to become one of the fastest in the world when he travels to Tokyo with Team Canada for the Paralympic Games, beginning Aug. 24.
The 19-year-old from Petawawa is visually impaired and will be competing in the T13 100 metres and 4x100-metres relay events.
"To tell you the truth, it didn’t really sink in for a few days," Ingram says, describing the feeling of finding out he would be heading to the games. "I remember first getting told, and not in a negative way at all, there was almost a feeling of numbness."
"We knew Austin was definitely in the top of his class and that he had a good chance of making the team," says Ingram’s coach Julie Crouzat. Crouzat has been training Ingram for the past five years and recalls watching him break onto the track and field scene.
"This kid is not just fast for a blind kid, he is fast for kids his age."
Currently in his classification, Ingram is ranked in the top ten in the world for the 100-metre event, and holds the Canadian records for the 100- and 200-metre events, at 10.99 seconds and 22.64 seconds, respectively.
"I would be lying if I said my goal wasn’t a medal," Ingram says of his expectations for his first Paralympic experience. "But really, get into the finals, see how it goes. Once you have the eight fastest guys in the world in that class all on the same track, anything can really happen depending on the given day."
Austin Ingram of Petawawa with coach Julie Crouzat. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)
As Petawawa’s first Olympic athlete and the Coureurs de Bois Running Club’s second - after Pembroke’s Madeleine Kelly - Ingram has become the pride of Petawawa.
"We knew he was pretty quick, but not this fast," Rick Schroeder, the head coach at Coureurs de Bois told CTV News Ottawa. "Sub-11 seconds is incredibly fast."
"To come out of the small town of Petawawa makes everybody in Petawawa proud," says Petawawa Deputy Mayor Gary Serviss. "And it makes kids from Petawawa and this local area realize that you don’t have to live in a big city like Toronto or Vancouver or Ottawa to make it onto the world stage in athletics."
Ingram says he received a boost of inspiration this week, watching his idol Andre De Grasse claim gold in the 200-metre event for Canada, adding his body composition and running style is similar to that of De Grasse.
"I remember thinking, that’s me," says Ingram recalling watching De Grasse race. "I’m not super tall; I don’t lean towards a Justin Gatlin type, built like a football player. I remember seeing De Grasse then and thinking if he can do it there’s no reason I can’t."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Bayer recalls hydraSense baby product over 'potential contamination'
Bayer announced Thursday it is recalling two lots of its hydraSense Baby Nasal Care Easydose due to a potential contamination.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.