Since starting out in snowshoeing in 2016, Meghan Josling has achieved great success in the sport and most recently earned silver and bronze medals at the Special Olympics World Winter Games held in Turin, Italy.
Josling explained how she discovering snowshoeing, and trying out different sports, including running, which she also continues to enjoy doing.
“I started in snowshoeing back in 2016, and it was a new sport in the Special Olympics. I already ran track, cross country and half marathons, and I don’t just do Special Olympics, but I also compete in neurotypical races as well. I am also a part of the Brantford Track and Field Club since 2017, so I already have years of running expertise under my belt. When I discovered snowshoeing…I didn’t realize that you could do running in snowshoes…so, I decided to give the sport a shot. Since then, I’ve fallen in love with it,” said Josling
Nevertheless, running has been a strong foundation for her growth as personal development and as a competitive athlete.
“Running has helped me in so many different ways. It’s helped me when I’m at a crossroads, or facing a difficult situation…going for a run helps me clear my head and figure out what the best thing to do. The sport has taught me to push past those barriers and to never give up and to keep persevering. It has also contributed to my overall health,” explained Josling.
However, Josling would get involved in the Special Olympics as a way to meet people.
“I got involved in the Special Olympics around 2011 as a way of making connections and making new friends…I have made friends all across the province now, but the first time I started doing track and field with the Special Olympics was the 3000m back in 2013 and so I did years of that. And then when I was in high school, I just continued doing track and field and cross country. And then for college, I also did track and cross country as well,” she said.
However, Josling has had to overcome many significant challenges in her life.
“When I was two and a half years old, I was diagnosed with epilepsy. So, I was having about 150 seizures a day, and that went on until I was about nine years old….When I was about five, I was on a ketogenic diet, which didn’t work, and by ten, I had surgery on my brain to get rid of the seizures….since then, I’ve been seizure-free, but when I had the seizures, I couldn’t barely walk and talk. My family could barely understand me. I always had to wear a helmet. I was always being bullied,” she said. “I didn’t have the language to say, leave me alone… I remember barricading myself in my room and shoving my dresser behind my door and hiding under my bed. I did not want to leave the house. I would be petrified to go to school. My family [advocated] for me but the school didn’t do anything at all to protect me,” she explained. “I was then transferred to Assumption College and despite my fear…they told me they would do everything in their power to keep me safe. At first, I didn’t believe them, because of what I had experienced. But I soon discovered things were different at this school and it became a sanctuary for me…a safe haven.”
Josling would gain her confidence taking up karate and opened up to a new world of sport.
“I wanted to become stronger and fitter and so if it wasn’t for karate. I don’t think I would be running, because it gave me a type of power and freedom to have power. I felt like I had a voice…I didn’t want to be this weak and vulnerable person who’s always being constantly bullied. I wanted to be stronger. I wanted to be better,” Josling said.
However, after the surgery, Josling had to relearn many of the things many of us take for granted while
“I had to relearn how to do everything that would normally have been learned as a kid like how to walk and talk…but I also had to deal with a rare genetic disorder called Noonan syndrome. People [typically that have it] don’t grow the same height as the average person, and they don’t gain weight,” Josling explained. “But, I have the SOS1 type…so I’m able to grow and able to gain weight, and I don’t have any heart problems whatsoever. My mom and sister live it, and my grandmother had Noonan’s…but the thing with having Noonan’s is that it makes you stubbornly determined as well!”
While Josling has many highlights of exceptional performances through the years, there is one that sticks out in her mind.
“Back in 2018, I was in Bobcaygeon, and it was my first time competing in a neurotypical snowshoe race. I went up to one of the racers and asked her about the course. She started to show me the route on the map…and told her that I couldn’t read a map. And then her tone changed…she went from talking to me normally to talking to me like I was a five-year-old. This made me quite upset,” Josling recalled. “I ended up finishing in second place behind that racer who was being discriminatory towards me. She was surprised that I was right behind her the whole time and ended up with a strong finish, which proved her wrong in thinking the way she did of me.”
Jostling also counts on two coaches who have been instrumental in her growth as an athlete.
“I’ve had a lot of wonderful people that have helped me along the way and have supported me including my snowshoeing coach Donna Campbell. She’s absolutely amazing and has been my coach for close to 10 years now,” she said. “And my Special Olympics track and field coach Jim Cruz…also has been amazing…a lot of these coaches have seen me grow to this point and they have helped me to become the athlete I am today.”
However, after years of training, Josling had a chance to compete at the Special Olympics World Winter Games held in Turin, Italy after several delays through the years because of various reasons. She would impress, capturing two medals in snow shoeing including a silver for the 800-metre event and a bronze in the 4X100 relay with Rachel Nickel, Jessica McLean and Jennifer Noonan.
“I got picked to go to Russia in 2020, but that got postponed because of the pandemic. In 2021 I got picked to go again because it was postponed because of the pandemic. In 2022, the games were canceled again, but this time because of the war. I was training for the three years prior in 2018, 2019, and 2020, for provincials and nationals [and] I was qualifying for my races. And then when I found out my races were not going to be held…it was upsetting because I was having to relearn and retrain my body for the sprinting …. I felt defeated,” Josling admitted. “But, when I heard I got to go to Italy, I was excited and I couldn’t believe I was going. Getting picked and to be able to compete on the world stage has been an incredible feeling…and another cool thing was I got to go to the Winter World Games on my birthday. Which made it even more special.”
