NOLAN Victoria

Canada
Rowing
3 Jan 1975
46
Female
PR3-B2
LIVERPOOL
 
Great Britain
TORONTO, ON
 
Canada

Events and Medals

Discipline Event Rank Medal
ROW Rowing PR3 Mixed Coxed Four - PR3Mix4+
CAN
Canada
 8

Schedule

Change
Start Time Location Event Status
Sea Forest Waterway
PR3 Mixed Coxed Four - PR3Mix4+ Heat 1
#7
Finished
Sea Forest Waterway
PR3 Mixed Coxed Four - PR3Mix4+ Repechage 1
#15
Finished
Sea Forest Waterway
PR3 Mixed Coxed Four - PR3Mix4+ Final B
#20
Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

:
RankEventYearLocationResult
Paralympic Games
3LTA Mixed Coxed Four - LTAMix4+2016Rio de Janeiro, BRA3:19.90
6LTA Mixed Coxed Four - LTAMix4+2008Beijing, CHN3:45.66
7LTA Mixed Coxed Four - LTAMix4+2012London, GBR3:31.17
World Championships
1LTA Mixed Coxed Four - LTAMix4+2010Hamilton, NZL3:36.53
2LTA Mixed Coxed Four - LTAMix4+2011Bled, SLO3:31.84
3LTA Mixed Coxed Four - LTAMix4+2015Aiguebelette-le-Lac, FRA3:27.38
3LTA Mixed Coxed Four - LTAMix4+2007Munich, GER3:37.19
4PR3 Mixed Coxed Four - PR3Mix4+2018Plovdiv, BUL7:10.21
4LTA Mixed Coxed Four - LTAMix4+2009Poznan, POL3:30.44
:
Athlete, Author, Media Professional - Television, Motivational Speaker
:
Cognitive Science - University of Toronto, Canada
:
Husband Eamonn, son Tarabh, daughter Ceilidh
:
English
:
Victoria City Rowing Club [Canada]
:
John Wetzstein [national], CAN
:
She took up the sport in 2006 at age 31. (paralympic.ca, 01 Sep 2018; rowingcanada.org, 01 Sep 2015)
:
After she became a mother her vision deteriorated, and she did not want her children to think she had been defeated by her impairment. She was inspired to try rowing after reading online that the Argonaut Rowing Club was starting a Para rowing programme. "I wanted to change, so I started looking for an activity that I would love enough to force me to get out of the house and be independent. Rowing was that activity." (personalhealthnews.ca, 14 May 2015; tdsb.on.ca, 15 Feb 2011, thestar.com, 03 Nov 2010)
:
To record a time of less than seven minutes in the mixed PR3 coxed four at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (ottawasportspages.ca, 18 Aug 2021; saltwire.com, 14 Jun 2021)
:
Winning a gold medal at the 2010 World Championships at Lake Karapiro, New Zealand. "Being on the podium and hearing 'O Canada' was one of my proudest moments. Following that achievement, my son walked into second grade class and got a standing ovation because his mum was a world champion. I got into rowing to make my children proud of me - mission accomplished." (Personalhealthnews.ca, 14 May 2015)
:
"When I lost my sight I turned to sport to overcome my disability. Now blindness can't catch me as I pursue goals I never dreamed possible." (Twitter profile, 04 Aug 2021)
:
In 2016 she was named Para Athlete of the Year by Rowing Canada. (albertarowing.ca, 28 Jan 2017)

General Interest

Classification
PR3 (World Rowing, 21 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (cbc.ca, 21 Jul 2021; yhestreet.com, 28 Feb 2014)

Impairment Details
Her impairment is the result of retinitis pigmentosa, which was diagnosed at age 18 after she had already lost 90% of her vision. The condition accelerated when she was pregnant, and she was left with only 3% vision. (personalhealthnews.ca, 14 May 2015; thestar.com, 16 Feb 2011, rowingcanada.org, 01 Dec 2010; paralympic.ca, 01 Sep 2018)

General
RETIREMENTS AND RETURNS
She retired from rowing following the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. She returned to competition at the 2015 World Championships in Aiguebelette-le-Lac, France, and went on to compete at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where she won a bronze medal. She again announced her retirement from the sport in 2016, but later returned and went on to compete at the 2018 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. (thestar.com, 13 May 2012; Facebook page, 07 Sep 2015; utsc.utoronto.ca, 19 Apr 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 24 Aug 2021)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
Since 2017 she has worked for Accessible Media Inc. as co-host of the Canadian magazine TV programme 'AMI This Week'. In 2014 she published an autobiography entitled 'Beyond Vision: The Story of a Blind Rower'. In 2020 she became a committee member for inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility at Row Ontario in Canada. She has given TEDx talks at the University of Toronto, and from 2014 to 2018 she served on the national board of directors at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind [CNIB]. (LinkedIn profile, 16 Aug 2021; paralympic.ca, 01 Sep 2018; thestreet.com, 28 Feb 2014)

EDUCATION AND PREVIOUS OCCUPATION
She studied for a master's degree in child study and education at the University of Toronto, and worked as a teacher for the Toronto District School Board from 1999 to 2017. (LinkedIn profile, 16 Aug 2021; paralympic.ca, 01 Sep 2018)

Legend
:
Gold Medal Event
:
Silver Medal Event
:
Bronze Medal Event
Content 1 (removed through CDN)
Content 2 (removed through CDN).
Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos