'You can achieve anything': Life-long B.C. athlete keeps competing after sudden vision loss
For as long as he can recall, James Kwinecki has loved athletics.
“It’s hard-wired in my body,” James smiles. “I don’t think I could go a few days without moving.”
When he was a kid, he played on every team he could. After graduating, he got a job that would support his pastime.
“I could make some money,” James says. “And then I could do my fitness and sports on the side.”
His life couldn’t have been better, until his vision suddenly got worse. He went to the doctor after the vision in one eye was “sort of getting fuzzy.”
“And then they sent me to the ER,” James says. “That was a bit of a curveball.”
The then 21-year-old was diagnosed with a rare eye disease, Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. Six months later, James was almost completely blind in both eyes.
“It was terrible,” James says. He suddenly couldn’t drive, couldn’t see his phone to connect with the world, and couldn’t play sports. “I had no idea what I was going to do.”
All the activities that James used to do – which defined him, fuelled him, and provided him with community – he now couldn’t do.
But then James heard about blind baseball. Seeing as he had nothing else to do, he tried it.
“It was so much fun,” James says, explaining how all the players are blindfolded before attempting to hit a ball that emits sounds, and running towards bases that do the same. “It kind of propelled me into getting into other sports.”
It inspired James to go to university and join the varsity rowing team.
“It was tough. It was hard,” James admits, before smiling. “Some of those days, I spent much more time in the water than the boat.”
But James persevered. And did so well that he earned an opportunity to join the national Paralympic rowing team.
“The momentum sparked more motivation,” James says.
It also gave James the confidence to look for a sport that would provide him with some of the autonomy he’d lost. He found that in running.
“I can just go run,” James says. “Nothing's going to stop me.”
After finding closed tracks and public routes that were safe, and often wearing a vest that says ‘blind runner,’ James runs by himself almost daily.
He’s now part of a community of runners. And with the help of a guide, James has also completed more than few marathons, and is training for more.
“You’re on top of the world,” James describes the feeling of running.
Although nothing compares to the feeling of proposing to your partner and her saying ‘yes.’
James and his fiancée Sydney are planning their wedding, while he’s also starting a new job at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind to support youth with vision loss.
“It does get better,” the now 29-year-old says. “It does get easier.”
And although life does take unexpected turns, James says if you commit to forging your own path, you just might find you couldn’t be happier with the direction you’re headed.
“Once you achieve that,” James smiles. “You can achieve anything!”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Severe thunderstorms, 15 cm of snow: Canadian weather forecast highlights
Well into spring, some parts of Canada could experience a wintry comeback, while other areas are bracing for severe thunderstorms, according to local forecasts.
Pope apologizes after using 'homophobic terms'
Pope Francis apologized Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar term about gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church's ban on gay priests.
At least 60 reports of Lyme disease so far as Ontario enters tick season
Peak tick season is only just beginning but reports of bites – and tick-borne illnesses – are already higher than normal in Ontario.
Spy watchdog's foreign interference review finds 'unacceptable gaps' in accountability
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Public Safety Canada lacked a system for tracking who received and read specific intelligence on foreign interference, creating 'unacceptable gaps in accountability,' the national spy watchdog has found.
Tornado touches down west of the Island of Montreal
Emergency services in the town of Rigaud, Que. are investigating after a tornado touched down shortly after 5:30 p.m.
Man convicted in attack on Pelosi's husband back in court after judge's error
A man who assaulted U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband in 2022 will have another day in court on Tuesday after the federal judge overseeing the case failed to allow him to speak during his sentencing hearing earlier this month.
Teen was doing homework at family's Mississauga, Ont. restaurant when gunman opened fire: testimony
The 13-year-old sister of a young man killed in the attack on her family’s Mississauga restaurant in 2021 took the stand in a Brampton courthouse on Monday to describe the terrifying moments of coming under fire.
WATCH Airline pilot treated to stunning northern lights show during U.S.-Portugal flight
An airline pilot got quite a show on May 11 while flying from San Francisco to Lisbon when a solar storm caused stunning auroras.
Richard Dreyfuss' comments about women, LGBTQ2S+ people and diversity lead venue to apologize
The actor Richard Dreyfuss showed up in a dress at a 'Jaws'-themed event in Massachusetts, where the blockbuster 1975 movie he starred in was shot, and then proceeded to make demeaning remarks about women, LGBTQ2S+ people and diversity.