Niverville resident Terrylinn Johnson won four medals in speedskating at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games held in Calgary on February 27–March 2. This is only the latest of Johnson’s accomplishments in her long history of competitive athletics, spanning back to the 1990s.
Her hard work and dedication landed her gold medals in both the 500- and 1,000-metre races, silver in the 333-metre, and bronze in the 777-metre.
Johnson has also competed in cross-country skiing and figure skating. When winter sports aren’t in season, she has branched out to explore summer sports, such as track and field.
Finding Community
Johnson moved to town one year ago to be closer to the ice at the CRRC so she could take advantage of the available ice time. She had previously lived in Steinbach, and when the Eastman Speed Skating Club moved to Niverville she realized she would have to make some adjustments to access the ice.
“With the whole club moving here, I wasn’t able to always to go Winnipeg with my supports,” says Johnson. “It was either go to Winnipeg or I wasn’t able to practice all the time. So I moved here.”
After the move, she has been able to practice twice or more per week during public skate times, doing laps around the edge of the ice. She also receives regular coaching once per week at the Susan Auch Oval in Winnipeg.
Johnson wasn’t born with a disability, but was later diagnosed with a learning disability. She also has some mobility issues. She doesn’t currently drive, but with some help she’s able to live independently and train regularly.
“I’ve lived on my own for 43 years this fall,” says Johnson. “I first moved to Steinbach in ‘81. I didn’t really know anybody and went to work and came home and fell asleep. I had supports to help me learn to cook and how to do laundry and stuff like that. Then there were some people who would come take me out for coffee and do different things.”
Johnson says she enjoys being independent and has always had the ability to go out. Knowing where to go for activities has sometimes been the challenge, however. Now that she has gotten to know her new community, she regularly enjoys dining at Chicken Chef and participating in activities at the Golden Friendship Centre.
Terrylinn’s community of friends enjoy hearing about her passion for sports and her infectious enthusiasm.
“Life has changed tremendously for Terrylinn now that she has moved to Niverville, as she continues to meet new people and connect through sport, coffee at local restaurants, bingo nights at the Friendship Centre, and all the friends she has met there,” says local friend and former support worker Dana Johnston. “She has a great group of friends who have shown her support in her life and with her Olympic journey. Terrylinn feels safe, a part of her community, and at home in Niverville.”
Kendra Walker provides hairdressing services for Terrylinn and the two have also become good friends.
“Terrylinn has a genuine, kind heart and is always making everyone around her laugh, especially when it comes to her witty comments at bingo night on Tuesday here in town,” says Walker. “I think what makes Terrylinn the athlete she is today is her perseverance to always give it her all out there. She never gives up, no matter what! I think we can all learn something from Terrylinn—and that is to follow your heart and don’t let anything get in your way.”
Johnson has been speedskating for more than 10 years. She says that one of her strengths is that a coach only needs to explain things once for her to remembers it.
Another strength is that she doesn’t mind the cold.
“What does bother me is the dark,” she says. “I hate walking in the winter because of that.”
Challenges in Sport
Johnson’s career in cross-country skiing and figure skating took her to other Special Olympics events, most notably the 2001 events in Alaska.
“I loved skiing,” she said. “Then I went to figure skating. I lived in Winnipeg, and after a couple of years cross country skiing I went to figure skating.”
When it became a challenge to find coaching for her level, she went through an inactive period.
Now that she is closer to an arena, she can pursue the sport she loves. Even so, receiving dedicated coaching and ice time remains a challenge.
“Thank God for the [CRRC] staff here to let me skate, and to let me skate with the public skate and even the sticks and pucks time,” says Johnson. “Thanks to them, I can skate four times a week.”
When she started speedskating, she realized that the Special Olympics organization only trained athletes for short track. She wanted them to support athletes in long track as well.
Johnson would also like to see Manitoba invest further in speedskating and construct a long track for athletes who don’t want to leave the province in order to access special facilities that currently only exist in Alberta, British Columbia, or Quebec.
She hopes to expand her training to compete in summer events like track and field as well, specializing in the long jump. The specialization may require additional coaching, which can be hard to secure.
Johnson is also interested in competitive swimming and would like to see Niverville invest in a community pool.
What’s Next?
Johnson has set her sights on competing in speedskating at the 2025 Special Olympics World Games in Italy.
With all her energy and commitment to both athleticism and Special Olympics, Johnson would like to see people become more supportive in the movement.
“Athletes with disabilities, we are human. We’re no different from you,” says Johnson. “In fact, some of us can be smarter than you. I’ll put it this way: you treat [others] the way you want to be treated. If you treat them like dirt, they’re going to treat you like dirt.”
