Amber Thomas has recently returned from the
Paralympics in London, where she won a bronze and a silver medal for herself
and for Canada. Way to go, Amber!
I met Amber about four years ago when I
interviewed her for my book, Out of Sight.
Her story is quite incredible. Amber
became blind after surgery to remove a brain tumour. The damage to her optic
nerve meant the complete loss of her sight. Amber was only ten years old.
When I met Amber she was already a
competitive swimmer and had gone with the national team to the Paralympics in
Beijing. That was at age fourteen. Now at age eighteen, Amber has a silver and
a bronze medal from the Paralympics held in London last month. The silver was
won for her swim in the 400 metre freestyle and the bronze for the 200 metre
Individual Medley. In her six swimming events, Amber broke five Canadian
records and three records in the America’s Region.
When Amber swims in a race, her focus must be absolute. There will
be no visual images to assist her in her swim. Amber sees no more and no less
in the water than she does on land. She must concentrate on swimming in a
straight line, knowing only that if her fingertips graze the bristly rope that
divides the lanes that she has swum off course. Most often Amber will count her
strokes to give herself some idea of when she is approaching the end of the
pool and when she can expect to feel the pressure of the tapper that will
signal she is ready for the turn. All of
this must be balanced with the adrenalin rush that comes from competing in a
major international event. This is when the endless hours of training and
practice come into play.
As a
Canadian, I feel very proud of Amber`s achievements and I feel privileged to
know her. More than her achievements as a blind swimmer, I admire Amber for her
dedication to her sport. As with other athletes who compete at an international
level, Amber has put in countless hours of training for her chosen sport. I
admire her perseverance.
Below is a picture of Amber in her red Team Canada jacket and her silver
medals.
This photo was taken by Matthew Murnaghan CPC.
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