Page 9 - KC NEwsletter No.2

From Pâtissier to World Champion
Athlete Profile – Patricia Wright
Silver medalist Natalie Olson and gold medal winner Patricia Wright (centre)
Interview
by Charles La Vertu
Patricia Wright of Ontario became Canada’s irst world champion by winning gold
in the Intellectually Impaired division at the 2016 Senior World Championships last October in Linz, Austria
It was her irst appearance at Worlds, at 40 years of age.
Wright became a para athlete after being struck by a car. She suffered a traumatic
brain injury (TBI) and has been diagnosed/labeled SLD
(slow learning disability.)
She also has had an uncontrolled Seizure Disorder since she was 22 months old. The seizure disorder was re- diagnosed as epilepsy after the TBI. A year later she suffered a stroke from a prolonged seizure.
“I am not allowed to work because of my disabilities, the epileptic seizures I have are mainly caused by stress and both my neurologist and my family doctor agree that working is not an option for me.
“Before my injury I had studied to become a pâtissier and I was on my way to becoming a district manager at Tim Hortons.
“I like singing in a choir, I like helping with Special Olympics bowling, I love anything to do with United Way after all without their programs and services I
At what age did you get serious about competitive karate?
“I competed before I was hit. They were Ontario tournaments. I do not really think I had the time/ skill to look beyond that.
“I was working full time at Tim Hortons. We also had a family catering company where I did the breads/ pastries/ cakes, wedding cakes. I loved what I did. There was never down time.
“I moved to Chatham from Hamilton, then I was hit.
(Continued on page 10)
would not be here.
“I would still be in
a wheelchair, in a hospital, suffering from PTSD, withdrawn from society. I would have no communication with the outside world. I would not be your irst WKF world champion.”
Wright was the 2016 United Way of Chatham-Kent Campaign Co-Chair.
Involved with karate since
the 1990s, she became a Para- Karate athlete in 2015. She practises Shorin Ryu under the direction of Sensei Daniel Whittal.
newsletter No.2 – February 2017
p. 9