Category: Tommy’s Mom’s Blog

Rio Paralympics Canadian Team Selection Update on Tommy

Today Athletics Canada released the list of Para Athletes selected to Team Canada for Rio 2016! Congratulations to the 24 amazing athletes who will represent Canada at the Paralympics in September! We will be cheering you on!
Unfortunately, Tommy did not make the list this time ’round. He had a fantastic season of new personal bests, and met the criteria required to make him eligible for selection to Rio, and came very, very close 🙂 We are so proud of his accomplishments, and so excited for all the future opportunities soon to come as he continues to grow as a Canadian T20 Para Athlete. In Rio, the longest distance event offered for T20 athletes is the 1500m. But next year at the World Championships in London England, there will be a T20 5000m event. Tommy is very strong in this event, and we are hopeful that he may have the opportunity to represent Canada next year in that event! And now we also look towards 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, knowing that Tommy is excited and keen to continue his dedicated training in his enthusiastic and joyful way 🙂 We want to warmly thank all the many wonderful people who have supported Tommy on his Road to Rio- his Ottawa Lions Coach Ray Elrick, his many teammates and training friends at the Ottawa Lions, his friends Kyle and Marco for their one to one support as fellow runners, the many Athletics Canada staff including Kristine, Kayla, Adam, Jason, Trish, Peter Eriksson, and others who supported him at their Development Camps in Guelph and Arizona, the many people who helped him complete his Classification as a T20 para athlete in both Italy and Arizona this year, his local physical therapists including Danny, Francine, Dr. Rod, and Marjolein, who kept him injury free and running, Ari Niemi at Zizu Optics for the awesome sunglasses, and for and his many, many wonderfully supportive friends both online and in person, and Tommy’s many family members near and far, who have all cheered him on and believed in him every step of the way! As Tommy’s parents, Peter and I feel like the First Luckiest Parents in the World, just being a part of Tommy’s unique journey as he goes forward each day, with his amazing smile, putting a smile on the faces of so many along the way. Whee!!!

Athletics Canada nominates 24 athletes to Team Canada for Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

Tommy at the Canadian National Track and Field Championships and Rio Selection Trials

August 7, 2016
Two new videos of Tommy at the Canadian National Track and Field Championships and Rio Selection Trials in July are posted now on his YouTube channel, Lookyus 🙂 Tommy won Gold in the 1500m, and Silver in the 5000m. He raced very well and enjoyed being there!
Many warm thanks to all who support Tommy, and look forward to updates on his races, etc. It has sure been a big year. We are very proud of all he has accomplished, and very grateful for all the kind words from his wonderful friends both far and near <3 In case you missed our earlier post re: Rio Paralympics: The list of Canadian para athletes selected for Rio is not yet released officially. Tommy has met the requirements for selection, but the quota is very limited so many deserving para athletes who are eligible will not be selected. Will keep you all posted when the official list is released. Have a very magical day 🙂 [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLjMG8hqZvvL5-auhOQteXR2dHUucxizIs[/embedyt]

Update on Tommy’s Road to Rio Paralympics

August 5, 2016
With the Opening Ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games being today, many of Tommy’s friends are asking if Tommy will be going to Rio for the Paralympic Games, which will take place in September. The official list of athletes has not yet been released. However, Canada, like all countries, had a limited quota for athletes and so was only able to select a small number of para athletes. Tommy had an incredible year of amazing personal bests, and ran the standard required for selection for Rio, as well as completing the IPC classification criteria by competing in Italy andArizona this past spring. Although Tommy is eligible for selection to go to Rio, there were many Canadian Para athletes who also met the criteria. We are still waiting for the final list of athletes to be released. If Tommy is not selected for Rio, we look forward to next year, when the World Championships will be help in London, England. The 5000m has been added as a T20 event for London, and Tommy is very strong in this event! If Rio is not meant to be for Tommy, there are new, exciting opportunities on the horizon for him, especially given the amazing year of new personal bests Tommy has run!!!!
In the meantime, we are making public our videos of Tommy’s wonderful trip in early July to the Canadian National Track and Field Championships and Rio Selection Trials. We hope you enjoy sharing in the exciting experiences Tommy had this year on his Road to Rio. Just check out his YouTube channel, Lookyus, for new videos as we post them over the next few days! As we look back on his year, we are so proud of all that he has accomplished. We will post very soon regarding Rio, once the official Paralympic Team for Canada is announced!
Finally, we want to congratulate and send the best of luck and good wishes to the Canadian athletes representing Canada in the Olympics which begin today in Rio! We are cheering for you! Go, Team Canada!!!! <3 https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=tommy%20des%20brisay-autism%20means%20friendship%20arizona

Birding with Paul and Laura in the prairie

July 16, 2016
Tommy’s big brother Paul and his wife Laura are biologists who do research near Brooks, Alberta. Their target species right now is the Chestnut Collared Longspur, and the Savannah Sparrow. Paul is working on his Masters degree from University of Manitoba. They get up each day about 3-4 am, head out into the prairie, and work very hard to collect the data they need for their research. Tommy was so happy to join them and help out. We hope you enjoy this video of one morning when we were lucky enough to join in with Paul and Laura as they went about their research!

Tommy wins Gold at National Championships – Ottawa Lions story

Des Brisay Leads Medal Haul on Day 1 of Canadian Championship

DES BRISAY LEADS MEDAL HAUL ON DAY 1 OF CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
July 8, 2016 · by Ottawa Lions · Bookmark the permalink. ·
It was a golden day for Tommy Des Brisay on day one of the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Edmonton yesterday. Des Brisay’s gold in the para ambulatory 1500m was just one of his two on the day and led the club’s five medal haul.

After narrowly claiming the 1500m title in a time of 4 minutes 16.57 seconds, Tommy returned to the track less than seven hours later to win silver in 5000m final. Des Brisay crossed the finish line in a time of 16:02.85, the third fastest of his life. Finishing third was teammate Jason Dunkerley in 17:03.59

The remaining two medals of the day also came from para athletes as 2012 Paralympian Josh Cassidy took silver in the T54 800m in 1:43.83.

Blind sprinter Larissa Brown had originally thought she had won gold in the para ambulatory 100m before a re-race was ordered after another competitor was disqualified for wandering out of her lane and interfering with another. In the re-race, Brown was narrowly edged at the line, taking silver in 13.59 seconds – one one hundredth out of gold. However, Larissa’s time did break her own Canadian record in the T12 category.

Full day one results are available below:

Senior Men

Ahmed Al-Slaq (Triple Jump Qualilfying) – FOUL
Matt Bedard (400m Hurdles Semi-Final) – 57.03 10th
Gabriel Tesfaye (400m Hurdles Semi-Final) – 52.41Q 4th
Brandyn Martineau (100m Qualifying) – 11.03 15th
Brandyn Martineau (200m Qualifying) – 22.63 10th
Brandyn Martineau (Long Jump Qualifying) – FOUL

Junior Men

Austin White (400m Hurdles Semi-Final) – 55.75Q 2nd

Junior Women

Hailey McKechnie (400m Hurdles Semi-Final) – DNF

Para Women

Larissa Brown (Ambulatory 100m Final) – 13.59 PB SILVER
Rachael Burrows (WC 100m Final) – 25.98 4th

Para Men

Tommy Des Brisay (Ambulatory 1500m Final) – 4:16.57 GOLD
Tommy Des Brisay (5000m Final) – 16:02.85 SILVER
Josh Cassidy (WC 800m Final) – 1:43.83 SILVER
Jason Dunkerley (5000m Final) – 17:03.59 BRONZE

Tommy 1st with 15:29 5K Scotiabank Canada Day Bushtukah Races 2016

July 1, 2016
Tommy placed 1st Overall with a time of 15:29 in the 5K at the Scotiabank Canada Day Bushtukah Races 2016 in Kanata this morning! It was a beautiful day and Tommy had fun!
Thank you so much to all the volunteers and organizers at Run Ottawa who make the Canada Race each year such a huge success!
And a huge thank you to all of Tommy’s friends and supporters, near and far 🙂
Happy Canada Day, everyone!

Tommy’s 1500m 4:10 Personal Best June 29 2016 at Ottawa Twilight Meet

Tommy ran a new Personal Best of 4:10 in the 1500m on June 29 2016 at the Ottawa Twilight Meet! Whee! On his Road to Rio, the standard he needs to be eligible for selection to Team Canada is 4:12, so he is eligible for selection for Rio!

Thank you to everyone who has supported Tommy along the way in this journey. We love you all 🙂

Tommy’s T20 1500m race, Desert Challenge Games, Phoenix Arizona

June 5, 2016
On the road to Rio’s Paralympic Games, Tommy had the amazing opportunity to travel to compete in the T20 1500m race at the Desert Challenge Games in Phoenix Arizona in May 2016. While there, Tommy completed his Paralympic Classification as a T20 athlete, as this event provided him with that opportunity.
Tommy met some amazing T20 runners from the USA, including Mikey Brannigan and Tyler Wigington. Connecting with them, and their coaches and families, was a highlight of the event for us as a family.
Thank you to Kayla, Jason, and Adam at Athletics Canada, who supported Tommy as an athlete selected to Athletics Canada’s Development Team for the Desert Challenge Games. It was a wonderful experience!

Tommy completes Classification as a Paralympic T20 on Road to Rio

June 4, 2016
In May, 2016, Tommy traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, to complete Classification for the Paralympic T20 category, as part of his Road to Rio, for the 2016 Paralympic Games! His Classification journey involved going for testing at the Abilities Center in Phoenix. When he arrived there, he saw that the ceiling was full of beautiful photos of Para Athletes, and he thought of the movie “The PageMaster”, the scene in the library. Tommy relates much of what he experiences to movies he loves. Watch and see his joy in discovering that the Ability Center was a lot like The PageMaster movie!

Tommy raced for Canada in Italy

April 10, 2016

Tommy represented Canada proudly in two races- the 1500m on Saturday evening and the 5000m Sunday morning here in Grosseto, Italy. He was so excited and it was wonderful to see how well he handled his very first international races. When his name was announced in Italian, and we heard “Canada….Thomas Des Brisay” it was very emotional indeed. He raced with amazing athletes from many countries around the world. It was such an honour to be here! All of the athletes, organizers, volunteers, coaches, and hosts of this event have been so kind, helpful, and friendly towards Tommy.

Tommy’s 1500m race result was surprising in that his pace was very relaxed. He finished 5th place, with a time of 4:41. Tommy has not really given us any insight into why, but suffice to say that “you never can tell with Tommy’s”! We have theories as to why, but they are just that-theories! Had he run closer to his recent personal best of 4:11 for the 1500m, which he ran in March 2016 in Ottawa, he would have placed more favourably, however we were so proud that he finished with a great attitude, looking forward to the next race. Here are the results:
http://www.fidalservizi.it/risultati/2016/Grosseto_IPC_2016/Gara520.htm

In the 5000m, Tommy and a runner from Spain led the race for the first 10 laps, and then the Spanish runner surged ahead. Tommy finished second place with a time of 15:51. It was a wonderful race and a great way for Tommy to end his trip to Italy on a very positive note! Here are the results:
http://www.fidalservizi.it/risultati/2016/Grosseto_IPC_2016/Gara620.htm

Tommy has now successfully completed his first round of classification as a T20 para athlete, which means he is one step closer to being eligible for selection to Rio (should he run the T20 qualification standard of 4:04 in the 1500m by July). Becoming classified also means that his race results will now be eligible to appear online in the list of official IPC world rankings for T20 athletes. At the moment, it seems that Tommy’s 5000m time from today, once it appears, may rank him as first in the world in 2016 T20 5000m performances so far this year! (The T20 5000m is not a Rio event, but we hope it may become a T20 event in future games.)

Overall, Tommy was thrilled to be here in Italy, made many new friends, and stayed upbeat, accepting the challenges of jetlag and new languages, and all of the many things that an international trip entails.

Congratulations to all the amazing athletes in Tommy’s races, and at this event! Thank you so much to all those who have helped Tommy all week and cheered him on! We have felt very welcomed and very supported here. Grazie <3 We fly home tomorrow and so we are currently enjoying one last afternoon here before packing up. We will upload some race video once home....the clips are too long to upload in the wifi here in the hotel. There doesn't seem to be any video online of his races...but if anyone comes across any, please post the link below! Thanks again for all the support and cheering on from Tommy Des Brisay's friends 🙂