Each edition of the Paralympic Games brings a fresh set of inspiring stories of courage and resilience. Add Shelby Newkirk’s to the list heading into Tokyo 2020.

Set to make her Paralympic debut in the Japanese capital, the Saskatoon resident will be one of 19 Canadian swimmers in action from Aug. 25 to Sept. 3 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

“I’m so excited. I first set that goal out loud in 2015 that I wanted to be in Tokyo, that I wanted to make that team,” says Newkirk, who earned her spot on the Canadian squad thanks to a silver medal performance in the 100-m backstroke S7 at London 2019, where she made her first World Para Swimming Championships appearance.

“Back in 2015, I wasn’t known much on the international stage. I didn’t have my international classification so I couldn’t do any of those bigger meets but my coach at the time, Karen Williams, kind of just told me ‘It’s not if you’ll go to the Paralympics, it’s when’. So we sat down and we kind of mapped out when I wanted to make the team and I said I wanted to go to Tokyo 2020. She said ‘Ok, it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but let’s go for it’.

“I made my first national team in 2017 and I feel it’s just kind of been building up to this point, and to finally be able to say that I’m a Paralympian… I think it’s just so cool to be able to represent Canada on the biggest stage in the world.”

Now training with Eric Kramer, her coach at the Saskatoon Laser Swim Club since September of 2017, Newkirk has built an impressive resume over the past few years, including numerous world records in backstroke events and back-to-back Swimming Canada female Para swimmer of the year awards in 2017 and 2018.

Despite all this success, her journey to Tokyo has been all but easy.

The 25-year-old has generalized dystonia, a progressive neurological disorder similar to Parkinson’s that affects movement, balance and coordination. Last April, she had to go through classification in Lewisville, Texas, where she was reclassified as an S6 swimmer.

“Classification is always challenging for me. I basically have to be classified every year or two years just because of how much my body progresses in a single time period,” says Newkirk. “I think the thing that’s hardest for me about classification is, even with my neurologist, we never talk about how much progression we’re seeing. It’s just like ‘Ok, this is happening’ and we deal with it. But with classification, you see the clear numbers, like ‘Ok, I used to be this, now I’m this’. And I think that can play with your mind, that first time that you’re really seeing ‘Oh! I went down this much’.

“It was definitely hard, and coming out with a different classification is something that you kind of knew was going to happen. We’ve kind of seen that I had been on the edge for a long time, so we weren’t really surprised. But it definitely still hit me hard when it was finalized. It was like ‘Oh, ok, that’s how it is’, and it’s just kind of a reality that I have to deal with, that it’s always progressing and it’s just what I have to live with.”

Kramer, who will be at Newkirk’s side in Tokyo as part of the Canadian team’s coaching staff, says the past two years, in particular, have been challenging for his protégée.

“Going back to the fall of 2019, we have started to notice more change. It affects her more than before. As a coach, I have to be really vigilant at all times. I watch how she trains, her body language. Not only can everything change from day to day, but from session to session.

“For me though, the most important part is we have to think about the human being. As a human being, she has had to adjust to the fact that her condition is progressing.”

Kramer points to London 2019 as a prime example of Newkirk’s courage and determination.

“Until two days before her 100 backstroke, her knee was swollen like a football. She was in a lot of pain. In the end, she swam her 100 back and still came in second, but she was far from her best time. She really did the best she could in the condition she was in.”

Newkirk hasn’t let these challenges deter her positive attitude. Outside the pool, she kept as busy as ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing her studies at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Education while also running her two businesses, Crafty Prairie Girl, where she sells custom made crochet items, and Accessible Life, where she shares products that can help make life more accessible for others.

But she is quick to point out her main focus was always Tokyo.

“Even though there was a lot of uncertainty of whether or not the Games were even going to happen, I just kind of hoped for the best. I really wanted to be able to be at my best once we could get into the water again.”

At the Games, Newkirk is set to compete in the 50 freestyle S6, the 100 free S7 and, on the final day of swimming on Sept. 3, the 100 backstroke S6. She goes into the 100 back with the fastest time for the Tokyo 2020 qualification period (Oct. 1, 2018 to Aug. 1, 2021).

“I’ve always wanted to be on the Paralympic podium, I’ve always thought that would be so cool,” she says. “With my progression though, I don’t quite know where I’m going to be, I’m not quite sure where I’ll line up.

“The biggest thing for me that will make it feel like a successful Games is if I leave that 100 back on the last day and I can say I did everything I could, whatever the results are, I want to be happy with my race, I want to be proud of myself and know that I did my absolute best. It would make me immensely proud to be able to say that.”

Kramer has only one wish.

“I sincerely hope that her brain, arms and legs will enable her to do what she is capable of. I’d like her to be able to perform at her best without limitations. That’s my only desire. Then we’ll see how it translates in terms of results.”