Charlotte Bolton and Sarah Mickey will become the first members of Team Canada to compete at the Olympic Stadium Friday as Para athletics take the spotlight at Tokyo 2020.
The participants in the women’s shot put F41 and women’s discus throw F55, respectively, will start their competitions shortly after 9 p.m. EST. This will be both women’s Paralympics debut.
For Bolton, who turned 18 last June and is one of the youngest members of the Canadian delegation, her chance to show herself to the world has come earlier than expected.
The native of Tillsonburg, Ont. was originally aiming for Paris 2024, but with the Tokyo event getting postponed to 2021, she got an extra year of preparation that allowed her to earn a spot in the roster.
Despite her young age, the shot putter has had a quick rise in the last couple of years, becoming the current holder of three Canadian records in F41 throwing events (9.05m – shot put, 20.33m – javelin, 26.02m – discus).
Only a couple of minutes after Bolton’s participation, it will be Sarah Mickey’s turn to attempt a place at the podium, which she’s been very close to reaching in previous major competitions.
The year 2019 was an outstanding one in the career of the discus thrower, who was born in Redcliff, Alta., 23 years ago.
At the Lima Parapan Games she established a new personal best throw of 21.38m, which was less than a metre away from the bronze medal, and in what was her first participation at the world championships in Dubai, she ended up fifth.
Mickey’s relationship with sports began very early in her life when she started practicing figure skating, but after contracting Lyme disease in 2013 she switched to Para ice hockey (even playing for the Canadian women’s national team), and eventually finding her sport in discus throw.
“It really felt like I became me again,” Mickey told the CBC in early August. “It helped me a lot with my mental health, and it definitely helped with my physical health.”
According to the official schedule for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, the exact times for these competitions are 21:05 p.m. EST for Bolton (shot put), and 21:19 p.m. EST for Mickey (discus throw).