Canadian triathlete Kamylle Frenette is a strong medal contender at the Paralympic Games in Paris, which run from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Kamylle Frenette was born with her right foot twisted completely inward. The birth defect is called a club foot and she had surgery to correct it at four months old. As a result, her right foot and right calf are smaller than the left and her right leg is shorter.
Despite that she played multiple sports as she grew up in Dieppe, N.B., and ran cross-country for four years at the Université de Moncton.
It wasn’t until a teammate in Moncton suggested that Frenette may qualify as a Paralympian that she begrudgingly gave it a thought. It took some mental gymnastics to get her head around it.
“I never saw myself as disabled,” she says. “My parents were very laid back. There was never a conversation about it in my house at all.”
She had mostly been able to hide her impairment until then.
“I was 18 and had an internal debate about telling my friends that I was born with a disability and was different,” Frenette says. “I had a fear of what people would think about me.”
Now 28, Frenette is a strong medal candidate for Canada as a triathlete at the Paris Paralympics, during which approximately 4,400 athletes will compete in 22 sports from Aug. 28 until Sept. 8.
Canadian Paralympic cyclist Alex Hayward aims for the podium after swift ascent to success
Five Canadians to watch at the Paralympics
Frenette enters the Paralympics ranked third in the world among female triathletes in the PTS5 division. Paralympians are classified based on the severity of their impairments; PTS5 is for those with mild limitations.
At her first Paralympics in Tokyo in 2021 she finished fourth in her category in the triathlon.
“I was happy,” she says. “My expectation was fourth so I felt it was a mission accomplished, but at the same time it still stung a little. You always want to reach the podium.”
Once an avid ringette player, at 16 she began to train with her father, Michel, a triathlete. They would camp during the summer and participate in local races across New Brunswick.
“He took me under his wing,” Frenette says.
From 2014 to 2018 Frenette ran cross-country at the Université de Moncton while completing a degree in biology. At the suggestion of a fellow runner, Carolyn Murray, Canada’s para triathlon coach, invited her to join the program.
“Somebody said to me, ‘You need to see this athlete,’” Murray recalls.
In 2016 Frenette attended a training camp with other triathletes and qualified as a para triathlete the following year.
It took her seven months to fully join the team as she worked on her biology degree and entered the pharmacy school at Dalhousie University.
“She had other things to accomplish so her ability to embrace the sport was limited,” Murray says. “Every athlete’s pathway to para sports is her own. It is not necessarily a straight path.”
When Murray was told about Frenette there was confusion over whether she had an impairment or not. “She is a beautiful runner and some people couldn’t tell she had a disability,” Murray says. “For her it wasn’t an element of who she was as she grew up.”
In 2018 Frenette had a stellar rookie season, winning a para triathlon World Cup race and finishing second in the World Triathlon Para Series event in Edmonton. She added another World Cup victory in 2019 in Magog, Que., and then nearly collected a medal two years later in Tokyo.
She won bronze at the 2023 World Triathlon Para Series event in Montreal and at a World Triathlon test event for the Games in Paris. In her international career, she has now earned four victories and 21 medals in 29 starts.
“Now she has completely embraced the sport,” Murray says. “She has made it a top priority. She has brought her fitness and technical level ability to a whole other level.
“It is freeing to watch her run. When you watch someone with rhythm and flow it is enjoyable. And she is still improving, which is very exciting.”
Things have come together for Frenette on so many levels. She is a pharmacist now and got married last year.
She won one competition leading up the Paralympics and finished second in another.
In 2021 her family was unable to travel to Tokyo due to restrictions related to the pandemic. This time Michel, her mother, Anni Leblanc, and older brother Samuel will cheer her on in Paris.
“I have nailed the preparation,” Frenette says of the Paralympics. “Winning a medal is a big goal for sure. I have enjoyed the journey to get there.
She has accepted now that she is a para athlete.
“I have come to the realization that I have a little something that maybe keeps me from being as fast as someone else,” Frenette says. “That opened up a lot of doors for me.”