As Cindy Ouellet prepares to head to Tokyo for her fourth Paralympics with Wheelchair Basketball Canada, she is embracing more of a leadership role.
The 32-year-old is an experienced Paralympian, having represented Canada at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Paralympics.
She also competed in the Winter Paralympics in para nordic skiing at the 2018 Games in PyeongChang.
“I’ve been on team for a while now, so I think just being there for my teammates, that’s going to be what I really want to focus on,” said Ouellet. “I know I can push; I know what I can do on the court, but I really like to just support my teammates. That is going to be my biggest goal there.”
Though she’s a veteran of the Games, Ouellet said it’s important to cherish each opportunity she gets to represent Canada.
“It’s always an honour obviously to get into the Games,” Ouellet said. “The feeling you get when you get on court, you put that Team Canada jersey on, I’m number seven. You know how much work you put in to get there. You know how many athletes want to get there as well, so you got to be in the moment and just do your best and enjoy it.”
The women’s squad headed to Tokyo is doing so with renewed optimism following their gold medal victory at the 2019 Lima Parapan American Games.
“I think we’re really confident,” Ouellet said. “We have a good group of women. There’s 11 of us and we’re a really good team. I think the team cohesion is good and we’re really confident about our skills.”
According to the Quebec City native, the group’s strength is the various personalities on the team.
“I think our main strength is the different leadership styles that we have in this group,” she said. “Everybody really brings something different when they’re on court and when they’re off the court. I think our main strength is that we don’t have bench players, we have 11 players that can play all the time.”
As Team Canada for Tokyo, Ouellet’s message to her teammates is simple:
“Enjoy the moment because it’s pretty unique to go to the Paralympic Games. Also, just be yourself. It’s a basketball court, we play all year long on the basketball court and it’s going to be the same thing, the same group. Obviously when you get the chance to represent Canada really enjoy every single second.”