Canada's Pemble, Hayward making mark as Para track cyclists just a few years into the sport
Both are competing at the world championships this week in Rio de Janeiro
You never know where life will take you.
Just ask Canada's Alexandre Hayward and Mel Pemble, who are racing toward the Paralympics as track cyclists just a few years after transitioning from completely different sports.
Hayward, a former wheelchair basketball player, and Pemble, a former Paralympic alpine skier, are chasing gold on the track this week at the world championships in Rio de Janeiro, their third straight appearance at the competition. It runs March 20-24 at the Rio Olympic velodrome, the venue from the 2016 Games.
Pemble made the switch to cycling in 2020, while Hayward joined her two years later, shortly before making his world-championship debut. They now train at the same facility in Bromont, Que., while working toward their goal of becoming summer Paralympians for the first time.
The oft-used term "meteoric rise" couldn't be more applicable for the 23-year-old Pemble, who already has five world medals on her resumé — including back-to-back gold in the omnium event.
"It has been a crazy four years going from completely skiing to completely cycling and having that wild ride. It has been a complete whirlwind since I've been on the team, and the success has been a bonus for sure," Pemble told CBC Sports.
They are both feeling confident after gold-medal performances on the track at the Parapan Am Games last November in Santiago, Chile, along with their time spent training with national coach Sébastien Travers in Bromont.
WATCH l Hayward wins Parapan Am gold in 3,000m individual pursuit:
Hayward won gold in the pursuit and silver in the time trial in Santiago while making his multi-sport Games debut. The emboldened 27-year-old from Quispamsis, N.B., is now gunning for his first podium finish at worlds.
Hayward has a packed schedule in Rio. He is set to compete in the men's C3 200-metre flying start, 3km individual pursuit, 1km time trial, 15km scratch race and team sprint, the latter alongside Pemble and O'Brien.
Victoria's Pemble will compete in the women's C3 500m time trial, flying start, individual pursuit and scratch race. The omnium champion is decided based on a combined score from the four races.
WATCH l Pemble wins individual pursuit final in Santiago:
Feeling 'normal' again
While successful results are undoubtedly important in any sport, they pale in comparison to the ultimate purpose cycling serves in Hayward's life, which looked much different just a few years ago. It allows him to feel "normal" again.
"The real kind of pivotal piece for me with the cycling has been this full reintegration almost into able-bodied sport," he said. "I'm getting to join group rides and quote, unquote, feel like a normal person for the first time in a really long time."
Hayward previously captained the national junior wheelchair basketball team and represented N.B. at the Canada Games, but it would've been nearly impossible to envision his current Paralympic path after suffering a life-changing spinal cord injury in 2012 while playing triple-A hockey.
"I was left completely paralyzed from the neck down, so my first goals were to try and scratch my own nose and sit up without passing out," he said. "So to kind of go from that to what I'm doing now, I really don't think my brain could have gone there.
He has also competed at the last two Para road cycling worlds and hopes to inspire others considering Para sports to go for it.
"The more we talk about it, the more we just kind of hope that it reaches that one person that was maybe on the fence and it kind of pushes them to try it," he said.
WATCH l Canadian athletes to be financially rewarded for Paralympic medals:
Pemble, who was born with cerebral palsy, enjoyed a successful alpine career that saw her reach the 2018 Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
She made her mark as a cyclist just two years into the sport with a breakout debut performance at the 2022 worlds in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. She set a world record in the flying start and captured gold in the scratch race and omnium.
"It feels very bizarre to kind of think about how different the trajectory of my life was when four years ago I did make that quick switch to cycling," she said.
Overcoming pressure
But with the sudden success came a new sense of pressure ahead of last year's world championships in Glasgow.
"To get the success so early on, I kind of felt like I had to learn very quickly how to manage that for the next year," she said. "And at 2023 worlds the pressure on myself kind of hit pretty hard and pretty early on before the worlds.
"I thought I could manage that stress pretty well from all the strategies and learning from being a skier and going through it trying to qualify for the 2018 Games, so when it came and hit me last year it was a bit of a surprise and I had to kind of re-learn it."
Pemble says she's feeling dialled in this time around after making the move to Bromont and taking her training to the next level.
"I managed to kind of kick off the off-season with a solid base of track training," she said. "I made the move to Bromont just for the year going into Paris, so I've had more opportunity to ride an indoor track than I could have previously in the last few years. Having a solid base has been a huge confidence booster."
While she still wants to retain her omnium crown, Pemble has a new focus this year as her Paralympic dream comes into focus. Most of her training has been diverted to one of the events.
"I focused heavily on the 500 metres going into this year, one of the events to qualify for the Games," Pemble said. "Luckily for me, in the schedule of this world championships it is the first event, so I still have the opportunity to kind of shift my focus after that and still do the omnium and still try to defend that title."
Pemble and Hayward will be joined in Rio by Canadian Paralympians Kate O'Brien and Keely Shaw in the women's C4 category, and the tandem of Lowell Taylor and Ed Veal.
