Timmins native ready to go for gold in Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympics

TIMMINS -

A native of Timmins is now in Tokyo preparing to compete in the summer paralympic games.

Meghan Mahon flew to Tokyo last week and is excited to represent Canada on the women's goalball team.

Now living in Calgary where she's found it to be a good place to train she is also a child and youth worker for the CNIB.

“I was born with a genetic condition called Achromatopsia so it leaves me with ten per cent vision and legally blind ... it’s something that I just always had, grown up with and have known no different so I definitely made the best of it,” explained Mahon.

This is Mahon's second Paralympic Games.  She competed at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and while the team didn't make the podium that year--finishing in sixth place-- it's hoping to change that this year.  However, it hasn't seen any international competition for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re really just going in knowing what our ability is and knowing that no matter what the team we’re playing and who it is, we have a job to do and we’re going to do that job to the best of our abilities,” continued Mahon.

She says it means a lot to knowing her hometown is still behind her no matter where she is in the world. 

"My mom is sharing it with everybody and definitely is my number one fan and when positive things are happening in the community, everybody is getting behind and everyone’s supportive and coming together," she said.

Another one of her fans is her former high school coach and now a close friend, Marcy McCarty, who said when Mahon comes to visit, she often comes to talk with her students.

"My biggest thing is passion for sport, passion for competition, hard work and dedication, and if you have that and you have that passion and you have that love you can do anything and she’s very much shown that.”

The Canadian women's goalball team will begin competing on Aug. 25 and matches will run up to Sept. 3 with the gold medal game.