KIT Kristen

General
PARALYMPIC COXSWAIN
She says she has learnt from her experience serving as coxswain for the Canadian LTA mixed coxed four at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London and the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She made the decision to switch to the Paralympic team after missing out on selection as coxswain for the Canadian women's eight at the 2012 and 2016 Games. "I moved to the Para team and put my heart into that and I ended up with a Paralympic bronze medal [from 2016 Games] which I am really proud of. I got to work with athletes who I really respect. We have had some ups and downs, difficulties with budget compared to our able-bodied counterparts, however the experience has helped me realise my abilities. And the [Paralympic] athletes are extraordinary. They train at a high-performance level, and are all individually inspiring people." (paralympic.ca, 16 Sep 2018; bpsportsniagara.com, 18 Dec 2017; riptskinsystems.com, 14 Aug 2016)

CYCLING CAREER
She has competed as a professional road cyclist and says the sport has helped improve her coxing performance in rowing. "I'm not very good but I get to race against some pretty good competition. Being able to be sharp and race almost every weekend in the summer has helped me so much with my coxing. It's a different sport, yes, but you have to go through a warm-up, the protocol and the pre-race jitters and then you have to be really focused in the race. Moves or attacks happen a lot faster in cycling, you can't hesitate. This along with understanding what the women feel in the third and fourth 500m is what helps me motivate [the crew] and call a strategically strong race." (bpsportsniagara.com, 18 Dec 2017; worldrowing.com, 08 Apr 2018; cyclingmagazine.ca, 13 Mar 2018)