‘Change that narrative’: Montrealer not participating – but competing – in 2024 Paralympics

Allison Lang is not participating in this year’s Paralympics — she’s competing.

The Edmonton-raised athlete who lives in Montreal was born missing the lower half of her left leg — and joined CityNews via Zoom from France — getting her final trainings in with Canada’s sitting volleyball team ahead of her first Paralympics.

“I didn’t even know the Paralympics existed when I was a young child,” she explained. “Because they’re not broadcasted the same way that the Olympics are.”

Lang grew up competing in a variety of sports — soccer, swimming, skiing which turned into snowboarding — although athletic, she struggled to fit in.

“I was severely bullied because of my disability, and it made me resent my body. And at one point in my life, I didn’t want to be alive because of my disability. I ended up quitting sports, I hid my prosthetic, and it really isolated me,” said Lang.

RELATED: ‘Your obstacle is your opportunity’: Montreal model and athlete creating a more body-inclusive world

In 2009, she met a girl who introduced her to sitting volleyball.

“To be honest, I didn’t love the idea of adaptive sports at first,” said Lang. “It made me feel different than my peers, and for so long I didn’t want to be different, I wanted to fit in.”

For Lang, the chance to perform on a world stage is about more than the sport itself, she is an advocate for athletes with unique abilities, hoping to change the narrative that she so often hears, calling Paralympic athletes participants instead of competitors.

“Oftentimes, people look at the Paralympics as inspiration instead of aspiration,” she said. “We’re trying to change that narrative.”

“W are high-performing athletes, elite athletes that partake in representing and proudly wearing the maple leaf.”

Canada’s Women’s Sitting Volleyball team will compete starting Aug. 29.

“We would love to make the podium,” said Lang. “To hopefully inspire young disabled athletes to turn to adaptive sport.”

“It doesn’t make you different,” she added. “It actually gives you more freedom to fit in.”