Goalball sharpshooter Emma Reinke ready for big moments in her second Paralympics

EMMA REINKE
Sport: Goalball
Event: Women’s
Classification: Visual impairment
Age: 26
Hometown: St. Thomas, ON
Residence: Ottawa
Second Paralympics

VIEW EMMA’S COMPETITION SCHEDULE HERE.

By Jackson Starr

Emma Reinke’s first Paralympic Games experiences were not in ideal circumstances. Uncertainty ruled, there were training and traveling restrictions, and plenty of other obstacles which plagued the Canadian women’s goalball team en route to a ninth-place finish three summers ago.

“I had a really hard time in Tokyo,” Reinke reflects. “Mentally, physically, emotionally – all that. I don’t think COVID helped too much. I think it was part of a strange situation.”

Despite a solid individual debut – Reinke scored eight goals over four games in Tokyo, which was eighth-best out of all players in the group stage – the team’s early exit left a lingering feeling of disappointment.

Three summers later though, and all the negative energy is gone, replaced by a pile of optimism.

“I am hoping that Paris is going to be my first real introduction to the Paralympic Games, and I am so excited for that,” signals the 26-year-old sharpshooter. “I’ve been thinking about Tokyo for the last couple days, just as we get closer to Paris, and I’m pretty sure the situation is going to be different, and the experience is going to be different, and that’s all I can hope for.”

Reinke is the youngest player on the six-member Canadian team, which includes two others who now make Ottawa home like her. The Carleton University student takes environmental studies whenever her goalball schedule is lighter, but sport is her priority for the moment.

Reinke took up goalball in Grade 9 gym class at W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind in Brantford, ON, which is about an hour east of her hometown of St. Thomas. She’s become Canada’s key offensive weapon and is a big reason why her team managed to secure a ticket to Paris in upset fashion through the 2023 Parapan Am Games.

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

Reinke scored hat tricks in each of Canada’s decisive victories over Brazil and USA in the semi-final and championship game – part of her team-leading 25 goals throughout the tournament.

“Big moments, I feel they’re very cool to rewatch,” Reinke smiles. “I think being able to do things like that is really neat. I don’t really think about those moments when I’m in them, I’m just kind of trying to do a job. All of the mental performance work that I’ve done has really helped me stay calm in situations like that.”

That wasn’t always the case for Reinke, but in seven seasons with Team Canada, and practicing regularly with veterans Amy Burk and Whitney Bogart in Ottawa, her confidence has increased alongside her experience.

“I think as I get older, it gets easier,” indicates Reinke, who was born with retinopathy of prematurity. ”We’ve always worked with a mental performance coach, but I think as I grow as an athlete, get older, I’m able to start working on it more thoughtfully for sure.

“I’ve gotten better at communicating with my coach while I’m on court, or with my teammates, to be like, ‘Hey guys, I’m really anxious,’ or, ‘I’m having this kind of struggle, and maybe I need to take a minute.’

“There’s so much that I’ve learned in the past couple years, so I think I’m much, much better equipped to deal with those situations now.”

Reinke will have yet another opportunity to step up in big sports against the best in the world in Paris, with her friends and family in the stands watching her compete in person at the Paralympics for the first time.

“I love having my family around,” she underlines. “Actually, my coach says that I perform better when my family’s around. It’s so fun to have my family around, even though I don’t get to see them too much, and I won’t get to see them a lot (in Paris). It’s fun to have people there who know you and know how you play and who all know my teammates and they know us. It’s just a lot of fun, for sure, and they’re always really loud.”

Reinke is keen to give her fans plenty to cheer about, including a possible trip to the podium, which hasn’t happened for the Canadian women’s goalball team since 2004 in Athens.

“It’s such a cool opportunity to have,” she notes. “It’s interesting being in this situation where I have been playing with the team for so long. I’ve been kind of working towards this for so long, and you don’t realize how unique of an opportunity it is when you’re surrounded by people who are in the same boat.

“But it is a very unique opportunity, it’s really interesting, and I feel very honoured to represent Canada this year in Paris.”

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