It’s a long way from a Lindsay job site to the gold medal podium in Milan, Italy, but Jon Thurston has made the difficult journey with poise, composure, and courage.
En route, the Dunsford-born-and-bred Paralympic wheelchair curler has inspired others by showing what it is to be confident and resilient in his abilities — even after sustaining a life-altering injury 18 years ago this month.
“I’ve had multiple challenges in my life, and this was a big one,” Jon relates.
That “big one” took place in August 2008, when Jon — then 24 years of age and working in construction — was helping to frame a commercial storage building in Lindsay. A sudden and severe storm with sideways hail blew in, sending the construction crew scrambling for cover. They began packing up their tools, but the building started to shift and break apart in the high winds.
Jon ran for the door with two co-workers and, as he was exiting, the structure came down. A steel beam from an overhead door struck Jon on his back, pinning him to the ground. He stayed conscious throughout, but lost all feeling as emergency crews and his co-workers helped to free him.
“I knew something wasn’t right,” says Jon, reflecting on the incident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Five Counties Children’s Centre was pleased to have Jon speak recently at our 50th annual meeting. In sharing the painful details about his life-altering incident, Jon also spoke eloquently about his rehab, recovery, resilience, and perseverance to adapt and ultimately reach the Paralympic gold-medal podium this past March.
Sports, so prevalent in Jon’s life before his injury, proved to be a critical path forward by which to heal and rediscover life.
“I didn’t know what life would look like for me after the injury, but one of the things that I did was set my mind towards exercise,” Jon notes. “I wanted to regain as much function as I could. I wanted to get as strong as I could. I wasn’t limited in anything, I was very young, and I wanted to keep doing whatever I could with family and friends.”
The support of therapists, health professionals, friends, and loved ones all helped in that regard.
Soon enough, Jon was hand cycling so he could ride with family and friends. He found ways to golf. He tried water skiing on Little Lake in Peterborough and later trained with Team Canada. He discovered adaptive mountain biking and felt the freedom of trails, nature, and speed again. Each new sport gave him another way to reconnect with the life he loved.
Winters were more of a challenge for Jon to stay in the game, but that all changed in 2012, when local wheelchair curling coach Carl Rennick saw a newspaper story about Jon’s recovery and invited him to try the sport. Jon had never curled before, but tried it out for a season.
“And it was an amazing season,” Jon says. “We won the provincials.”
Wheelchair curling suited Jon to a ‘T’ because it was inclusive. He could play with people using wheelchairs and people standing on the ice. It was social, strategic, and challenging.
He describes wheelchair curling as “chess on ice,” providing him a winter sport he could pursue close to home, with accessible clubs in Peterborough, Lindsay, and Bobcaygeon.
Jon kept working. It would be several years of ups and downs in wheelchair curling before he reached lofty heights.
Ultimately, he made Team Canada in 2019, won Paralympic bronze in 2022, and helped Canada win gold at the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Italy. Canada went undefeated, finishing with a dramatic 4-3 win over China in the final and capturing the hearts and adoration of a country along the way.
“I think there are key things that I’ve learned,” says Jon about his experiences over the years. “One is that success isn’t achieved alone. I think of all the coaches, friends, family, and teammates that have helped me be better.”
“Another thing is that from adversity comes strength,” Jon adds. “I think you learn to be resilient, you learn to be determined … or you build determination.”
“And then there is the adage to dream big. I would have never imagined I’d be representing Canada — that I could get to two Paralympics — but I think anything is possible.”
Words well said, and a story of success that Five Counties was pleased to feature at its annual meeting from an incredible individual — Jon Thurston — who has overcome so much, both on and off the ice.
