From fencing in a small-town Sask. church to Paris: Ryan Rousell's journey to the 2024 Paralympics

Ryan Rousell can often be found at the church in his hometown of Asquith, Sask.

That's because the church in the small town, just west of Saskatoon, doubles as Rousell's training ground for wheelchair fencing. The 27-year-old is preparing for his second trip to the Paralympics, with the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games set to start next week.

Rousell was born prematurely and lives with cerebral palsy, which affects his motor skills on his right side. His right leg is shorter, has less muscle mass and is slower to respond to commands than his left.

That didn't stop him from falling in love with fencing. He convinced his friends to join the Asquith Garde Fencing Club and competed with other non-disabled teammates for years.

"It just became a passion for me,'' Rousell said. "Just the mental and physical challenge of it is really engaging. It's kind of like playing … chess in real life.''

Rousell has been fencing since he was seven years old but was reluctant to make the jump to wheelchair fencing as a teenager. It wasn't until he got a visit from Sylvie Morel, a scout for the national wheelchair fencing team and his wheelchair fencing teammate in Paris, that Rousell decided to give the Para sport a try.

Doug Brecht, the head coach of the Asquith Garde Fencing Club, has helped train Rousell since he started fencing. Rousell's choice to compete with his non-disabled teammates for so long made him a better wheelchair fencer, says Brecht.

"He wasn't able to move with his opponents,'' the coach said. "This actually benefited him in the long run, because what that meant is he had to develop an extremely fast hand. ''

Rousell has since made a name for himself in the world of wheelchair fencing, with wins at the Americas championships and the Wheelchair Fencing World Cup, and a bronze medal at the 2018 U23 world championships. He placed 13th in sabre and 14th in épée at the Tokyo Paralympics.

WATCH| Paralympian credits small fencing academy in local church for his success:

Paralympian credits small fencing academy in local church for his success

3 months ago

Duration 2:16

Ryan Rousell is preparing to head to Paris for his second Paralympics. He's been pushing himself to be one of the best in the world at wheelchair fencing, and he's doing it all out of a church in his hometown of Asquith, Sask.

Rousell said he hopes to bring a Paralympic medal back to Asquith this time around.

"In this Paralympics, I feel like I'm fine-tuned enough to be standing here and be toe-to-toe with everybody there,'' he said. 

Brecht believes Rousell's goal is realistic. 

"For Tokyo, he qualified because he's got all that potential and everything. He was a good fencer, but he wasn't as emotionally and mentally stable as he is now,'' Brecht said.

"He's growing mentally and emotionally and he's also growing skill-wise. He's a much better fencer than he was when he went to Tokyo. In the Western Hemisphere, in wheelchair sabre, he dominates.''

Tight-knit fencing community

Brecht also said it's amazing that Rousell is putting Asquith — a town of about 600 people approximately 40 kilometres west of Saskatoon — on the map as an area that can produce world-class fencers. 

John Brunning, Saskatchewan's provincial fencing coach, said having Rousell compete at the Paralympics is a boost for the province's fencing reputation, because Canada is only able to send two male competitors to the Games. 

"Getting your athletes to compete at the top of the world stage is always great for the publicity for the sport,'' Brunning said. "We've only ever had one Olympian fencer from Saskatchewan.''

Brunning added Rousell has the potential to compete in two or three more Paralympic Games after Paris. 

The Asquith fencer said he wouldn't be able to compete in the Paralympics if it weren't for Saskatchewan's tight-knit fencing community.

"The support system here is great, so everyone who comes here also helps me train in the chair, even though they're not Para fencers themselves. They'll come sit in the chair and fence with me, try things out.… It's really helpful,'' Rousell said. 

He added he is looking forward to seeing the differences in competing in Paris compared to the Tokyo Paralympic Games, which were delayed and affected by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

"I have no idea what to expect … [in] terms of, like, crowd or atmosphere anymore, just because the atmosphere from Tokyo to this is probably going to be significantly different,'' Rousell said.