Canadian Paralympic gold medallist Nate Riech chases world record as tuneup for Paris

Nate Riech wants to feel pressure.

In the past, big races have affected the Victoria native, if not broken him. His nerves caused him to throw up hours before he became world champion last year. At the Tokyo Paralympics, what he thought was a pre-race muscle issue was likely, in hindsight, also nerves. He won there, too.

But at this summer's Paris Paralympics, Riech and coach Heather Hennigar are trying to avoid all of that pre-race drama.

Which is why Tuesday – exactly 95 days before Riech races to defend his T38 1,500-metre gold medal — is critical in the Canadian's training process.

Riech will race at Alumni Stadium in Guelph, Ont., in the Royal City Inferno meet, his first true competition of the season, with his eyes solely set on breaking his world record of three minutes 47.89 seconds. His event is scheduled to begin at 7:55 p.m. ET. You can watch it here.

"I like there being something on the line. Some people don't like that. I like that pressure. I like that, like 'Oh I'm gonna qualify or I'm not gonna qualify.' I feel like you just learn so much from those experiences," Riech said.

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In this case, most of the pressure is internal, but Riech says he intentionally increased the external factors by inviting media and sponsors. He's also working privately on a documentary.

However, there was one pressure the 29-year-old could not control. In late March, ongoing tightness throughout Riech's right leg — exacerbated by the coordination impairment that affects his right side — caused him to miss about three weeks on the track.

The issue threw off his training schedule to the point that Hennigar discussed pushing back the world-record race. Riech resisted.

"The Paralympic final doesn't get to be moved. It doesn't matter how good I feel or how bad I feel," he said.

Riech is confident the tightness won't linger that far. His uncle, Trevor Harrison, is a physiotherapist who's helped with injury recoveries for NBA stars such as Blake Griffin and the late Kobe Bryant, and has kept Riech nearly injury-free since he became an elite Paralympic runner in 2019.

In a way, the issue could be perceived as a blessing in disguise — as one more hurdle to be overcome ahead of a big race.

"We're building this into the process of stepping up to the plate, even when not everything has gone exactly as planned, because at the end of the day — and this is the way Nate's treating it — things can go sideways stepping onto an Olympic start line as well. And you still need to go put yourself out there and see where you're at," Hennigar said.