Boulton was a guide in the Paralympics for visually impaired athlete Christine Robbins
Sasha Boulton grew up an avid athlete, competing in multiple different sports such as competitive swimming and soccer. When Boulton was 13, her parents asked her to pick a sport. She chose triathlons as it allowed her to compete in three sports at once. She continued to swim at a competitive level and began to compete more consistently in triathlons. A few years ago, Boulton sustained a career-changing injury to her lower back, a previous coach then reached out to her about an opportunity to train with an athlete as a guide for triathlons.
“Then, when I was supposed to double my distance and become an Olympic distance triathlete, I got injured. ”
Rebecca Thompson: How did you become a guide for the Rio Paralympics?
Sasha Boulton: In 2011, I went to a camp in Florida for a Canada Games training camp and I met a coach named Michel Elibani. He coached me for the two weeks there and we stayed in contact after. Then, when I was supposed to double my distance and become an Olympic distance triathlete, I got injured. I was out for 13 months and Michel saw that I wasn’t racing anymore and emailed me with an opportunity to train as a guide. I wasn’t sure I was going to be fast enough for her [Robbins], but it was a huge jump to go back to where I was racing versus to racing with her, it was half the step. I thought I was ending my triathlon career because I couldn’t get fast enough to get back to Olympic distance, so I thought, why not do this?
RT: How did you and Christine Robbins first meet?
SB: We first had a Skype call and we hit it off right away just verbally talking. I was with the Gryphon swim team, just training with them trying to get fit again and they happened to have OUA’s in Ottawa which was where Christine and Michel were based. I was there helping and timing, doing what I could and helping the athletes, and I would get up at 3:30 a.m., go to the pool where she was swimming and meet her. I got to swim with her twice that weekend, then I would head back to the pool for OUA’s. It was a big lead up, I got the email in November and we exchanged so many emails about possibilities after that, I knew she was a hopeful for Rio, but it was still two years away at the time.
“…if we were going to make Rio I was going to have to go all in. I moved to Ottawa…”
RT: How would you describe yours and Robbins’s relationship?
SB: Sisters. After the first year of travelling between Guelph and Ottawa, I decided this year that if we were going to make Rio I was going to have to go all in. I moved to Ottawa, so I basically lived with her and drove her places. You’re kind of also like her psychologist and then you’re training three to four times a day together, so you’re sisters. You care so much about each other, but you’re so close that you’ll fight too. It’s the easiest way to describe it, we’re like family members.
RT: How did you balance school, varsity swimming, as well as training and traveling for the Paralympics?
SB: It was crazy! It’s hard because something has to give, sometimes school gave, sometimes I’d have to miss out on days of training, during exams I’d miss out on five days of training which was really stressful for me. It’s not a balance, something is always in deficit, but you make it work if it’s something that you want enough.
“It’s not a balance, something is always in deficit, but you make it work if it’s something that you want enough.”
RT: Can you tell us more about your experience at the Rio Paralympics?
SB: It’s super overwhelming to see every other athlete and you’re living in the same village as your competitors, but everyone was so nice. That atmosphere just makes you want to race so fast. Rio as a whole, the village, everything was so well organized. Team Canada organized vehicles to get us to all of our training sites, and then our race site, and having all the other Canadian athletes to watch after the races was really inspiring.
RT: How did your Paralympic experience compare to other triathlons that you and Christine have competed in?
SB: It was completely different—the atmosphere at the race was a 100 times better than our normal races. We have traveled to Japan, to Scotland, to places that don’t really promote Para-triathlon so there’s not a lot of spectators. But in Rio, I don’t know what it is about the people in Rio, but they get excited about everything. The spectators were amazing, you couldn’t go anywhere because there were spectators everywhere and the cheering was so loud. We had the boys go the day before us, so we knew what to expect and that they had to adapt the morning of the race because of spectators, so we were really prepared going into that race.
“Guelph is an amazing place to train for a triathlon. There are running trails everywhere and Guelph has a great run program…”
RT: Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience?
SB: Guelph is an amazing place to train for a triathlon. There are running trails everywhere and Guelph has a great run program so there are runners everywhere. And former coach now, Don Burton, of the swim team was really helpful. He let me train with the swim team for two years without racing, I don’t think I would have ever gotten back into shape after my injury if it wasn’t for him.
Boulton also added that Robbins is now retired, and she is now focusing on school and finishing her degree in biomedical engineering, as well as competing for the Gryphon swim team.
Christine Robbins, 38, and Sasha Boulton, 22, placed 10th at the Rio Paralympics in September.
Photo by Mido Melebari.