Whitehorse’s Jessica Frotten is learning it’s a good idea to train in all sorts of weather. She can’t count on sunny skies when it comes to racing.
The 25-year-old wheelchair racer was slowed by torrential rains at the 2013 Canada Summer Games Trials, Senior and Master Provincial Championships in Saskatoon, Sask., on Saturday.
“I had to change all my clothes twice,” said Frotten. “It was really, really wet. My hands just slip off the wheels, so you really have to try to stay dry.
“It made me realize I need to stop being a sucky-pants and get out and train in the rain. If I only train on the nice days, I’m not going to do very well with my track record here.”
Her times were slower, but she still won her division in the 100-, 400- and 1,500-metre events at the championships.
She was less than three seconds behind male competitor and Canada Summer Games teammate Brayden Close in the 100-metre.
“I think the 1,500 is going to be my favourite race,” said Frotten, who finished the 1,500 in 5:59.86. “Now that I’ve conditioned myself a little better, I’m really starting to like the longer ones.”
The championship was the final qualification event for the Canada Summer Games next month in Sherbrooke, Que. However, Frotten qualified for the Games at her first outdoor meet, the 2013 Dogwood Track and Field Meet at the University of Victoria in May, in which she won five gold medals.
Frotten will represent Saskatchewan at the Canada Games, having moved to Regina for the First Steps Wellness Centre, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for those living with spinal cord injuries.
She also competed at the 2013 Saskatchewan Open Championships and Trials in Regina last month, finishing as the top female in the 100-, 200-, 400- and 800-metre races.
Frotten became a paraplegic in a car accident on the Alaska Highway outside of Whitehorse in December 2009.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com