Special Olympian Tyler LeFebvre took first place in the 25-metre wheelchair sprint and the 30-metre wheelchair slalom at the regional qualifier in track and field in Smithers last week.
LeFebvre is a seasoned athlete who is looking to qualify for the Special Olympics B.C. Summer Games to be held in Prince George in 2025.
LeFebvre also came away from the competition with a second in mini javelin and a third place finish in the shot put.
For LeFebvre it’s more about beating his own time every time he races because he is so unique in the sport. It is rare to have a wheelchair athlete in track and field.
“Tyler always works on beating his own time,” said his mom, Sue LeFebvre.
Speedy LeFebvre had personal bests in all four events at the regional qualifier.
His time coming into the 25-metre straight sprint was 24 seconds and during the competition he clocked in at 17.25 seconds. For the 30-metre slalom where he cuts in and out of a series of pylons he came into the competition with a 38 second time trial and at the track meet he finished in 25.03 seconds.
“I like the straight stretch better and then the slalom,” he said.
“Tyler was amazing at the track meet, and his times crossing the finish lines during competition were incredible," said Wilma VanHage, his coach, about the dedicated athlete. "He came to every practice and worked so hard and it certainly paid off."
LeFebvre also beat both his shot put and mini javelin distances.
“I like the javelin better,” LeFebvre said. “For shot put it’s hard because you have to hold it here (indicating his neck) and then you have to throw it really high or it doesn’t work.”
LeFebvre started with the Special Olympics when he was in high school.
“So it’s been about 25 years,” mom Sue said about his involvement. “He started bowling first and then when he was a bit more mobile he did soccer with his walker and some floor hockey and now he does curling in the winter and track and field in the summer.”
At the regional qualifier for track and field there were 11 local athletes who competed in races, standing and running long jump, mini javelin, shot put and wheelchair events.
Here are the results for the other 10 Prince George athletes who were at the regional qualifier in Smithers:
- Ruth Caldwell took gold in mini javelin and the 100 metre race and bronze in standing long jump and shot put.
- Carla Caputo took gold in 200 metre, 400 metre, 800 metre races and mini javelin, while earning silver in 100 metre and shot put.
- Chase Caron took gold in the 100 metre, silver in running long jump and mini javelin, and bronze in shot put.
- David Dunn took gold in 1500 metre, 3000 metre, and running long jump, while placing silver in the 800 metre race.
- Audrey Nelson took gold in mini javelin, shot put and 100 metre and silver in standing long jump.
- Dallas Poole took silver in 100 metre and bronze in the 200 metre race and in shot put.
- Spencer Rourke took gold in the 200 metre race and shot put while earning silver in standing long jump.
- Adam Spokes took gold in running long jump and silver in mini javelin and shot put.
- Marinka VanHage took gold in the 100 metre race and silver in the 200 and 400 metre races, and earned bronze in shot put and and mini javelin.
- Randella Willier took gold in the 200 metre race, standing long jump and shot put and earned silver in mini javelin.
Announcements about who moves on to the Special Olympics BC Summer Games come late in the summer. Each competition is a qualifer for another. The B.C. Summer Games held in Prince George in 2025 allow athletes to qualify for the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games held in Medicine Hat, Alberta, which in turn will be the national qualifier for the 2027 Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Santiago, Chile.
