Erica Gavel is no stranger to the Paralympic stage, but Paris 2024 will mark her first time in a non-athlete role.
Gavel competed for Canada in wheelchair basketball at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil where the Canadian squad fell short of a podium finishing fifth. Gavel helped the Canadian squad qualify for the Tokyo games in 2021 before she retired from the sport to focus on family and her studies.
For the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Gavel will be serving as an ambassador working alongside the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) spreading awareness among athletes about the WADA and resources related to anti-doping.
Gavel says she is looking forward to chatting with athletes from all across the globe.
“I think for me, what’s really cool is that not only will I be representing Canada, I’ll actually be representing all athletes at the Games. I think through the international work that I’ve been able to do in the last couple of years, my appreciation from a global perspective has definitely increased. So I’m excited to see and chat with athletes from all parts of the world.”
Gavel also serves as the chair of the Canadian Paralympic Athletes Council and was named to the Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee last month by Carla Qualtrough, the Minister for Sport and Physical Activity.
Gavel says she is looking forward to taking in the Paralympic Games from a different perspective then what she experienced in 2016.
“I think going to the Paralympics as an ambassador is definitely different than going as an athlete. As an ambassador, you’re more of an observing role, engagement type of thing, whereas as an athlete, you’re going there to perform. When I was an athlete, I really enjoyed the process and using competitions as the opportunity to showcase all of the work that you’ve put into your training over the last four years.”
“I’m really excited to see, from a Paralympic movement perspective, where we’re really advancing. I think too, from an athlete point of view, just understanding how the Paralympics changes people’s lives, not only in the field of play, but off of the court. I think that for me is also what I’m excited for, even if the athletes at the time don’t necessarily know how much their life is going to change.”
After her graduation from Carlton Comprehensive High School in Prince Albert, Gavel was recruited to play for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball program. After suffering three serious injuries to the same knee, Erica was told she would never play competitive sports again.
After transitioning into wheelchair basketball, Gavel would first make the national team in 2015 and was a part of the Canadian teams that won gold at the America’s Cup in 2017 and the Para Pan Am Games in 2019.
Gavel is currently attending Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ontario where she is working on completing her Ph. D later this year. She has completed a number of sport research papers as part of studies including “Mitigating Fatigue and improving performance in athletes with spinal cord injuries” and “The effects of menthol mouth rinse during 30 km time trial performance in female athletes”.
Gavel says any experience she is able to get helps her with her studies, even if it’s not a perfect comparison.
“I find just being in those different environments and learning a lot about people with disabilities and just the Paralympic movement in general, although it might not be directly related, I always do take things from these environments which eventually apply to my research.”
With Paris being one of the most famous cities in the world, Gavel says she is looking forward to experiencing what the biggest city in France has to offer.
“I’ve been to the Paris airport a lot of times and I’ve been to France probably seven or eight times, but I’ve actually never spent time in Paris. I’m excited to see the popular sites and just the city in general. I hear really good things about Paris from a metropolitan perspective. I’m really excited to see the city itself and I love France. I’ve been there, and not only for work, but also for pleasure.”
Gavel will depart for France on August 25 and the opening ceremonies are scheduled for August 28.
