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Orangeville’s Renee Foessel sets world record – Now ready for Paralympics

July 29, 2021   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Orangeville athlete, Renee Foessel, will be heading to Tokyo to compete in the 2021 Paralympic Games.

Renee has been in top form as she gets ready for the trip.

In June 2021, she set a world record in the F38 discus with a throw of 37.88 meters, at the Toronto Track and Field Centre at York University.

While discus is her main sport, Renee has also medaled in other sports.

During the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto, she won gold in discus, silver in shot put, and bronze in the javelin.

Her athletic resume is impressive, competing at the 2011 Parapan American games, the 2016 Paralympic Games, the 2017 IPC World Championships, and the 2019 IPC World Championships. She was named the Most Outstanding Female Field Performer by Athletics Ontario in 2013. 

Born in Mississauga, she was introduced to track and field at an early age.

“When I was younger my parents wanted to find a platform where I could excel with my physical limitations,” she explained of her start in athletics. “At first discus wasn’t my favourite event. When I was younger, I liked the idea of the javelin – it was like throwing a spear. As I grew older, I fell in love with the feeling of throwing the discus – the release of when it comes off your fingers, and there’s just something about the technique, it’s something I really enjoy.”

Her first serious international competition was at the World Parapan Games in New Zealand. She was the youngest Canadian para-athlete at those games.

Getting ready for competition at the Paralympics requires a lot of effort.

“Right [now] my schedule is pretty hectic,” Renee explained. “I train with my coach four to five days a week. I’m doing a program with my strength and conditioning coach. It’s a three-day program and after that it’s a matter of recovery.”

Setting the new world record in June came at a good point in her career as she gets ready for international competition.

“When they read out the mark, I was not aware that the throw was a new record,” Renee said. “After, there was a whole set of emotions when I realized I had obtained that world record.”

Moving forward, Renee said she is “looking forward to what she can bring to the games. This is a unique opportunity – especially for Paralympic sports.”

Renee is getting ready to depart for Japan on August 19.

The Tokyo Paralympic Games will get underway on August 24, and run though to September 5.

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