New Brunswick para-athlete packs his bags for Switzerland

New Brunswick para-athlete Dante Cormier is headed to Switzerland to put his strength and speed to the test.

Six days a week, whether it’s on the track or in the gym, you can find Dante Cormier training.

“I got into track and field, specifically the para side of track and field, in seventh grade. It was a gym teacher actually in middle school, she introduced the sport to me, and I just stuck with it,” he said.

For the last six years now, he hasn’t let anything slow him down.

The para-athlete competes in wheelchair racing, entering in 100 metres all the way up to 1500 metres and is ranked second in Canada and third for under 20 athletes globally.

“I have cerebral palsy, it effects both my legs and my left arm,” said Cormier.

He originally started his para-athletics career in sledge hockey, only getting on the track to improve his speed on the ice but quickly made the switch permanently.

Since then, his dedication has never wavered, and he’s only gotten faster and stronger with time.

“Our national federation Athletics Canada has been tracking Dante for a while now because they’ve seen the trajectories on him and they’re comparing him to previous athletes that have gone on to be international medalists,” said his coach, Steve LeBlanc.

LeBlanc wears multiple hats - the head coach of track and field at the Universite de Moncton, the head coach and technical director for Aetos Athletica, and Dante‘s coach for the past five years. He says he’s seen the amount of work that Dante has put into it.

“To do what he’s doing you have to sort of really love it and be into it because it’s not like there’s a whole group of wheelchair racers that he’s training with, he’s doing a lot of his workouts on his own,” he said.

Now, at only 18-years-old, his athletic future is at his fingertips.

Dante was recently invited to compete at his first international race in Switzerland – the prestigious Swiss Series – and attend a high-performance training camp in Victoria, B.C.

“Now obviously the people at Athletics Canada think I’m ready to go compete internationally, so I’m a pretty excited about that,” said Cormier. “I start off at the Nottwil Grand Prix and then Swiss Nationals and then there’s a Memorial meet so I’m actually doing three competitions where I’ll be doing two races in each competition.”

LeBlanc says it’s the kind of competition that you have to get invited to, you can’t just decide to enter it on your own.

“This is a big jump because one of the things that will happen on the trip is he’ll have the opportunity to get classified internationally, which will make him eligible for other international competitions, so that’s a pretty big deal because that opens up the big ones, the Paralympics, the world championships,” he said.

“I don’t want to put a curse on it, but I think we’re going to have some pretty fast times and I’m expecting probably some personal bests it’s a fast track and he’s going to be racing against fast people.”

Cormier says if he does well, it could mean he goes to New Delhi which is “the ultimate goal.”

However, with big dreams, comes high costs and between registration, travel and modifications the trip is expected to be around $14,000.

“The sport’s really expensive and the financial part is probably one of the biggest barriers,” he said.

With hopes that this competition is just a stepping stone, Cormier has set up a fundraiser to help make the trip a bit more financially feasible.

However, he says having this opportunity is also about breaking barriers in para-athletics overall and showing what’s possible for anyone with a little determination and support.

“I feel like as someone with a disability there’s always kind of, maybe a bit of doubt,” he said.

“I’m hoping that once if I can go over then and compete, then it will hopefully inspire some of the younger athletes to maybe continue doing the sport and just pursue their dreams.”

Representing both New Brunswick and para-athletes, Cormier is heading to Switzerland May 17-June 2.

“I’m just going to try to do the best I can, that’s all I can do,” he said.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.