Paralympic rookie/medal contender Bianca Borgella has secret weapon to fight hamstring injury

BIANCA BORGELLA
Sport: Para Athletics
Events: T13 Women’s 100 m, Universal 4×100 m Relay
Classification: T13 visual impairment
Age: 21
Hometown: Rockland
Local Club: Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club
First Paralympics

VIEW BIANCA’S COMPETITION SCHEDULE HERE.

By Adam Beauchemin

About the last place in the world Bianca Borgella wanted to visit a month before her Paralympic debut was an MRI machine.

The Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club sprinter still made the other more exciting stops she’d planned to hit – Toronto, Barcelona and Paris of course – but she could have done without the detour to determine that she had a pulled hamstring.

“That was pretty disappointing,” recounts Borgella, who’d initially hoped the pain she felt while racing a little over three weeks ago was just a cramp until the exam said otherwise.

The 21-year-old isn’t letting the injury cramp her enthusiasm for her first Paralympics though. She setup shop at Athletics Canada’s Toronto hub a little sooner than originally planned so she could get extra medical attention and therapy. Before leaving for Team Canada’s training camp in Spain late last week, Borgella was back running in track spikes.

“Hopefully I can be running full speed again in Barcelona,” says the graduate of St. Francis-Xavier Catholic High School in Hammond. “Basically I’m trying not to overstrain the hamstring. Because I’m a hamstring runner, they’ve been trying to make sure I run with my glutes and my hips and not my hammies.”

The injury could force Borgella to miss the universal 4×100-metre relay event, where Canada placed fourth at last year’s World Championships. She puts her chances at racing in the relay at 50/50.

“I’m on the relay team, but we’ll see how I go because I haven’t ran a curve yet,” highlights Borgella, noting that racing on the curved portion of the track requires her to lean on her injured hamstring and could elevate the risk of re-injury.

But she says there’s no doubt she’ll compete in her individual T13 women’s 100 m race for athletes with visual impairments.

“I know I can run a straight,” underlines Borgella, who is coached by Yolande Jones-Grande with the Lions as well as Gordon Cavé.

Borgella says she’s grateful for the excellent rehab staff as well as her coaches who helped through the injury and her Lions teammates for their support.

The last-minute injury has changed plenty for Borgella, and even though she’s adjusted her mindset heading into the Games, she remains optimistic.

“Before I pulled my hamstring, I was like, ‘I’m going to do great. I’m going to do amazing. I’m going to win,’” Borgella recalls. “But after pulling my hammy, I’m not going to be too hard on myself. I’m going to give myself grace and just go into it knowing the fact that I’m going to have fun.

“Now, if I win, then I’ll be surprised, but if I don’t, that’s OK.”

Borgella owns the second-fastest time recorded in the world this season and is one of just three athletes in her class to run under 12 seconds this year. Her 11.92-second clocking on May 26 in London, ON was a personal-best performance and improved on her national record.

Borgella loudly announced her Paralympic podium potential at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships when she won a bronze medal in the 100 m and a silver in the 200 m (which isn’t contested in her class at the Paralympics).

Read More: Double medallist Bianca Borgella Canada’s breakout star of the World Para Athletics Championships

Athletes in the T13 classification are generally considered legally blind, but have some vision are able to compete without guide runners. Borgella was born with Leber congenital amaurosis, but has raced alongside fully-sighted runners most of her career.

Also a Canadian record holder in the 200 and 400 m, Borgella only began serious competitive training three years ago after running for fun in high school. She’s now a member of the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Paris will be familiar territory for Borgella. That’s where she won her pair of medals at the 2023 World Championships.

“One thing I’m looking forward to is just the atmosphere — just getting the energy from the fans will be outstanding,” she signals, adding that she’s also looking forward to watching the Games and competing against the rest of the top competitors in the world.

One more item Borgella is looking forward to? Delicious French pastries.

“I’m going back to eat all the Madeleines because I had a really lovely Madeleine addiction back there,” she smiles. “I feel like that’s what helped me win.”

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