Dave Paul
Over the phone, Priscilla Gagne doesn’t sound like a fighter.
The former Sarnian has a soft, melodic voice that belies her age of 30, and she sounds bubbly as she discusses her athletic career.
But Gagne has a proven toughness, overcoming obstacles and opponents on her way to becoming a world-class martial artist.
Gagne will represent Canada as a B1 (visually impaired) judo competitor at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Sept. 7-18, immediately following the Olympic Games.
She currently lives in Montreal where she trains with the national judo team.
Gagne grew up in Sarnia and attended King George VI and St. Patrick’s after arriving with her family from Quebec at the age of three.
A rare form of retinitis pigmentosa – a degenerative eye disease – caused vision problems as a girl and her eyesight continued to diminish as an adult.
Despite the visual limitations she’s always had a passion for combat sports, she said.
She wrestled for a time and then took up karate. And while she enjoyed that sport she couldn’t compete as a fighter.
“I couldn’t block the strikes,” she said. And doing “exhibitions” wasn’t rewarding enough.
Her introduction to judo came at the Sarnia YMCA under the tutelage of Sensei Bob Sing.
“He taught me all the basics and fundamentals of judo before I moved away,” Gagne said.
“He gave me a pair of kneepads and a really nice Mizuno judo bag as a parting gift, which I still have.”
In 2011, she broke both feet in a match in Whitby, Ont. She broke one foot taking an awkward step but stubbornly fought on and wound up breaking the other.
“I thought I could fight through it,” she said. “I’m used to hurting myself anyway – running into walls and posts,” she said with a laugh.
The turning point in her career came in 2013 when she moved to Ottawa to train under former Olympian Nathalie Gosselin.
Gagne began to contend at international competitions the following year and has since excelled at numerous events in Europe.
She was a silver medalist at the ParaPan Am Games in Toronto last year, and this year won bronze at a World Cup event in Brazil. She is seeded fourth among eight competitors in the 52-kilo class in Rio.
Funding and support from various sources – including her family, which is still in Sarnia – has allowed her to train fulltime for the Games.
Her father’s union, Local 663, and employer DMW Electrical and Instrumentation, have been very generous, she said.
Gagne also gets financial support from sponsors and the national team program.
Her ramped-up, twice-a-day training seems to be working as she attempts to peak for September.
“I’m getting stronger,” she said. “The (national team) coach says he can see a difference. I’m working on getting better, technically.”