PATH TO PARIS: USask graduates climb Paralympic podium

Newkirk raced to a third-place finish in Saturday’s women’s 100m backstroke S6, while Kozun helped Canada’s women’s sitting volleyball team win Saturday’s bronze-medal match with a 3-0 sweep of Brazil a day before the Paralympics wrapped up with the closing ceremonies on Sunday, Sept. 8.

“It feels absolutely incredible to be able to be on the podium and not just celebrate all the years of hard work I have put in working towards this moment, but to also celebrate all the amazing people that have helped me achieve this dream,” Newkirk told On Campus News on Monday morning. “Getting to represent your country and hometown at any competition is always an honour but there is something special about being on the podium on the biggest stage and know that everything you have done, everything you have sacrificed, and all the years of hard work you have put in, have come together and paid off to get you to that spot. I just really want to thank everyone that has helped me along the way: My family, my friends, my support team, my coach Ryan Jones and everyone who cheered me on along the way!”

Newkirk celebrated her first medal while competing in her second Paralympics, racing to third place in a time of 1:22.24. Newkirk, who also finished eighth in the mixed 4x100m free relay team event on the weekend, had won back-to-back world championships in the 100m backstroke S6 in 2022 and 2023, after finishing fourth at the 2021 Paralympics.

“Honestly, I am just so proud in this moment,” Newkirk told reporters after the medal ceremony. “It’s everything I’ve wanted for so long and we’ve worked towards. I was on the podium and I briefly looked over and I saw my mom kind of wiping her face and I said, ‘Oh, don’t start, because I am going to start crying to!’ But it was just so amazing to have that moment and I am definitely so happy.”

A Class of 2022 graduate of USask’s College of Education, Newkirk had plenty of supporters from Saskatoon at the Paris Paralympics, including her father Dr. Rex Newkirk (PhD) – an associate professor and Ministry of Agriculture Endowed Research Chair in Feed Processing Technology in USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources – and her mother Kathy-Jo, a former USask Huskie women’s basketball player.

Newkirk is a former Sask Sport Female Athlete of the Year and Swimming Canada’s Female Para-Swimmer of the Year, and now a Paralympic medallist, along with Kozun, another graduate of USask’s Class of 2022.

Kozun, a Melfort native who graduated with a Diploma in Agribusiness, also had plenty of support in the stands in Paris, including her parents Lynne and Randy, to watch her help Canada sweep Brazil in straight sets (25-15, 25-18, 25-18), to win the country’s first ever medal in sitting volleyball. Canada lost to Brazil in the bronze-medal game in the 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo, before turning the tables on the Brazilians in Paris three years later.

“I’m so proud of each and every one of my teammates,” Kozun told USask’s On Campus News. “We have worked so hard towards our goal of a podium finish at the Paralympics. We made history becoming the first team to win a Paralympic medal for Canada in sitting volleyball and that’s something that will carry with me for the rest of my life. I’m just so grateful I was part of this group and everything we were able to accomplish.”

Canadian head coach Nicole Ban was thrilled with her team’s performance after years of chasing a spot on the Paralympic podium.

“We finally did it, we showed up in our third Paralympic Games, our second bronze medal match, and we did it,” said Ban after the victory in an interview with the Canadian Paralympic Committee. “I couldn’t be more proud of the athletes today, but really for the growth that we’ve had for the nine and half years I’ve been with the program. Most of this core group has been here through it.”

Brazil took a 14-10 lead in the third set before Canada battled back with a 10-1 run, sparked by some spectacular serves and attacks by Kozun to take a 20-15 lead on the way to clinching the bronze medal.

Kozun and Newkirk were two of four current or former USask students who came home with bronze medals from the Paris Summer Games. USask alumna Dr. Keely Shaw (PhD) finished third in the women’s 3,000-metre individual pursuit C4 Para-cycling event in the Paralympics, while current USask kinesiology student Rylan Wiens earned a bronze medal along with Nathan Zsombor-Murray in the 10-metre men’s synchronized diving event at the Olympics.

USask was also represented in the Paris Paralympics by current education student Jacob Wassermann (Para-rowing) and arts and science student Ashlyn Renneberg (Para-athletics women’s javelin), as well as education alumna Nikita Ens (Para-swimming) and former Huskie women’s basketball player and kinesiology alumna Erica Gavel, who served as an athlete ambassador with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) at the Paralympics.

In the Olympic competition, Wiens was joined by USask sociology student Margo Erlam(women’s diving) and education student Sydney Carroll (artistic swimming), along with USask graduate and former Huskies track and field star Michelle Harrison (100m women’s hurdles). Other USask connections at the Olympics included Huskies track and field coach Jason Reindl (Harrison’s coach in Paris) and Huskies women’s basketball coach Lisa Thomaidis and support staff member Connor Jay with Germany’s Olympic women’s basketball team.