- Homepage
- Athletes
- Athlete Profiles
- 2010
- Jessica Roberge
Jessica Roberge
Fast happenings for Jessica Roberge
If Jessica Roberge thought one day of registering with a swimming club, it was mainly to get away from the physiotherapy room. Not that she disliked her therapist whose suggestion it actually was. She told me that if I swam, I wouldn’t have to do physio anymore and in the end, that’s what happened
, explained the 18-year old athlete who was already taking Red Cross classes. I enjoyed water ever since I was a small child, so it really was no burden.
However, she never would have thought that, 10 years later, that recommendation would have brought her to the Para-swimming Short Course World Championships 2009 and allow her to dream of the Paralympics.
The Abitibi native, who was eight years old at the time, totally ignored what she was getting into. At the Ville-Marie swimming club, she quickly acquired a taste for lowering her times. Living with spina bifida will not stop her. My disability is not severe and I’ve always felt like any other swimmer. I also always trained with regular swimmers. I try and follow the others.
A new motivation
Listening to Mario Gagnon, her coach at the time, Jessica started the proceedings to obtain her paralympic classification. After a first attempt in 2005, she tried again the following year, when it was assessed that she had finished growing. That time it happened and she became an S10 swimmer, like multiple Paralympic medal holder Benoit Huot.
From that moment on, things happened fast. I already had my standards to take part in the Can-Am meets and I continued training even more seriously. I now had a precise goal, unlike previously when I wasn’t really considering going far in swimming.
The Quebecer could also draw inspiration from fellow swimmers Valérie Grand’Maison and Benoit Huot, who are among the world élite of para-swimming. Since we always watched a lot of sports at home, I knew the discipline and I was interested in their performances. When I received my paralympic classification, I paid even more attention to their results.
Twice fifth at the Para-swimming Short Course World Championships contested last fall in Rio de Janeiro, Jessica lived quite a first experience on the international scene. I did three personal best times out of five, so it still was all right. There are small things I could have done better, but I really loved the experience. I very much enjoyed watching the best para-swimmers compete and even swim against them.
I am also lucky to be close to Quebec athletes who enjoy a good reputation worldwide. Having them is very motivating. They are good examples of what I want to try and do. They are good models. I admire Valérie very much, she has done incredible things. And on top of that, she likes sharing her experience to help us
, she adds.
The 18-year old para-swimmer is also inspired by para-cyclist and ex-para-swimmer Geneviève Ouellette. She encouraged me tremendously when she learned of my classification. She is another great role model, and further, we come from the same area.
Abitibi in her heart
A Ville-Marie native, Jessica Roberge was flag-bearer at the Canada Games closing ceremonies in Prince Edward Island in the summer of 2009. She trains with the Rouyn-Noranda Dauphins, with non-handicapped swimmers. But the main obstacles she has had to face are not related to spina bifida. It is more a question of training from the coaches.
In remote regions, it is sometime difficult to recruit coaches. That is the reason she left her Ville-Marie club to join the Rouyn-Noranda Dauphins. I ended up without a coach for many months. That is the biggest problem. My previous coach would give me training exercises to do. I then had to pass them along to the rest of the club. On top of stimulating myself, I had to motivate the club
, she recalls.
However, nothing equals the benefit of practising your sport close to home
, adds Jacinthe Blanchette’s new protégée. I am happy to be able to carry on with my training in Abitibi. It is important for me, but I’ve realised that it is important also for the people in my region who see me as an athlete who succeeds while staying in the area.
Nevertheless, from Abitibi, Jessica keeps an eye on the world, and especially on London, host city of the next Paralympic Games.
