Whitney Bogart, Parapan Am Games athlete, competes for gold
First-place medals sourced from Marathon mine, where goalball athlete's father worked for years
The Parapan Am Games have the potential to be extra special for a blind athlete hailing from Marathon, Ont., thanks to a hometown connection.
Competing in your home country is always an honour and performing in front of friends and family should be icing on the cake. But for Whitney Bogart, the possibility of winning gold comes with profound meaning.
That's because the first-place medals being handed out are made with gold from Marathon's Hemlo Gold Mine, a place where her father worked for many years.
"Just how cool it is that my dad had worked at this mine for years and the gold is from my hometown and we're in Canada," she said.
"It's crazy to think of all the connections."
Born with albinism, Bogart has no pigment in her skin, hair or eyes, and is legally blind. All four of her siblings suffer from the same condition.
Albinism never stopped Bogart from participating in sports. When she was a teenager, she came across goalball and decided to leave home to attend a school for the visually impaired.
"The first time I played it I just fell in love with it," she said.
Goalball is a team sport designed for blind athletes where everyone wears blindfolds to ensure no one can see. Players must listen for bells across the court to know when the ball is coming. Often, they're coming in fast, with speeds up to 50 km/h.
The event provides a great opportunity for Bogart to show off her goalball skills with her family in the crowd.
"It's pretty cool for them to be able to see us playing at our top level," she said.
The medal rounds for women's goalball at the Parapan Am Games will take place Friday in Toronto.