Fifth Paralympics anything but old to goalball captain Amy Burk

AMY BURK
Sport: Goalball
Event: Women’s
Classification: Visual impairment
Age: 34
Hometown: Charlottetown, PEI
Residence: Ottawa
Fifth Paralympics

VIEW AMY’S COMPETITION SCHEDULE HERE.

By Jackson Starr

Amy Burk will be among rare company at the Paris Paralympic Games. When the 34-year-old Team Canada captain plays her first women’s goalball match against host France on Aug. 29, she’ll become one of just nine members of the 2024 Canadian Paralympic team to have competed in 5+ Paralympics.

“I’m super excited,” Burk underlines. “Getting to go to the Paralympics and representing your country at the highest level that you can in your sport is just a huge honour.

“One of the things I keep telling people is: this will be my fifth, but it’s no different than my first. It’s just special. Sometimes as athletes, we kind of take it for granted, but there is a small selected group that actually gets to do this. And when you think back and you reflect on it, it’s just a huge honour.”

Burk participated in her first Paralympics as an 18-year-old at Beijing 2008. She’s represented Canada consistently on the world stage ever since, becoming a go-to goal scorer for the squad.

“In 2008, I was there as a rookie, and basically soaking in all of the information and just what it’s like to compete at the highest level,” recalls Burk. “Now, I’m leading the team into Paris. It’s a whole different mindset, a whole different role, so many different responsibilities. It is super exciting.”

Burk says that she’s been getting “amped up” just talking about the Paris Games.

“The adrenaline is going to be rolling,” signals the Algonquin College graduate who works shifts as a medical laboratory technician at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario when her goalball schedule permits it.

“There is for sure excitement for all five Games, but the difference for us now compared to even just Tokyo, those were Games that no one knew what to expect,” she adds. “No one knew how it was actually going to unfold, all the restrictions with training and competing and just not even being able to have your family and friends there. This go-around makes it seem so much bigger.”

Canada is coming off its worst Paralympic finish at the Tokyo Games when it failed to advance past the group stage into the quarter-finals – the first time during Burk’s tenure with the team that happened. But the team has been on a major upswing since then, culminating with a Parapan American Games gold medal win last fall that clinched the team’s Paris ticket.

Read More: Team Canada goalball women move from elementary school gym to Paralympic stage

“Seeing it all come together has built the team’s belief,” notes Burk, who will be chasing her first Paralympic medal in Paris. “It would be amazing. These will be my fifth Games. If I make it on the podium, that’s awesome, but it took five games to get there. It’s good for the kids and the youth to show them that nothing is impossible.”

The mother of two also means that a podium performance would be great for her own kids to see.

“I have two young boys, both with albinism as well, so I know para sport is in their future, as opposed to able bodied sport,” Burk explains. “For them to see the Paralympics, and just what great athletes can accomplish despite their limitations of their disability is inspirational. It just goes to show you that you can accomplish your goals in life.”

One element that will be different for the Paris Games is that Burk will also get to have her sons and her husband (who is Canadian goalball teammate Whitney Bogart’s twin brother) in the stands cheering her on.

“They’ve never seen me play internationally, so it’s going to be super exciting for them to see this live and to just see what our team can do,” highlights Burk, who is also a spokesperson for the Unlock The Everyday campaign to raise awareness about assistive technology needs.

“It’s been a roller coaster career for me, and with what we’ve accomplished in the last three years, I think we still have more to give,” she adds. “We have more to accomplish, and I’m just really excited to see where this group can take our game and how we can take it to the next level.”

COMPETITION SCHEDULE: