'It’s just totally surreal': Gold-medal Olympian returns home to Calgary
The Tokyo Olympics ended in gold for Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, but she almost didn’t have the chance to earn the medal.
Gruchalla-Wesierski and her team snagged gold in the women’s eight rowing final, the first time for Canada in 29 years in that event.
“It’s just totally surreal… I just can’t quite believe it,” said Gruchalla-Wesierski.
The 30-year-old recalls the team starting off strong in the race.
“Ok, we're beating really fast crews out of the start, this is a really, really great way to start a race,” said Gruchalla-Wesierski.
“The middle 1,000’s kind of our bread and butter and so once we were ahead there I was like, ‘Nobody’s going to walk through us today.’”
“We could see Kasia in the boat in quite a lot of the shots,” said Tad Gruchalla-Wesierski, Kasia’s father. “Christina’s going, ‘There’s Kasia, we’re doing great.’”
Gruchalla-Wesierski had to push herself especially hard to make it to the Olympics, six weeks before the finals, she was in a cycling accident.
“The x-rays came in, she said her clavicle’s broken, and I just thought, ‘That’s it, her dream is done,’” said Tad Gruchalla-Wesierski.
Instead of giving up on her Olympic dream, Gruchalla-Wesierski’s team decided she would get surgery.
After 57 stitches and recovery time, the rower worked to re-earn her spot on the boat. She arrived in Tokyo 10 days after the rest of her team did.
“Luckily I have an amazing support team within Rowing Canada and a bunch of other surgeons in my circle,” said Gruchalla-Wesierski.
“We're just so proud of her and so grateful that things worked out,” added Tad Gruchalla-Wesierski.
The rower arrived home in Calgary to the cheers of friends and family, celebrating her win.
“I'm just so excited to see everybody and to share this moment with them,” said Gruchalla-Wesierski.
She planned to indulge in sleep, beer and poutine, along with spending time with family and friends.
With files from CTV News Calgary’s Kathy Le
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A 'tragedy that can't be measured': North Bay's forever chemical problem is also the rest of Canada's
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
opinion How to use your credit card as a powerful wealth-building tool
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Here's what 'the hinge' move is, how to do it correctly
When you're picking something up from the floor or bending over to tie your shoe laces, you're performing "the hinge move," according to movement trainers.
Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Trump heading to Jersey Shore to rally 'mega crowd' in weekend break from hush money trial
After a long week in court, Donald Trump is heading to the Jersey Shore. And his campaign says he'll be joined by "tens of thousands" of his friends.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.