Lowell Taylor: Embracing New Challenges

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary – Lowell Taylor’s preparation for the 2015 Paralympian Search event in Calgary was less than ideal. He had just spent a week in Disneyland with his family and woken up at 4am to travel home and directly to the event, where he arrived late and tired. 

But Taylor’s participation was highly anticipated and throughout the testing, he could see some eyeballs pop around him as his scores ticked steadily upwards. The para-cyclist handily met the performance standards and eventually qualified for the Next Gen para-cycling program, which opened his eyes to the possibility of competing at the Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020.

Being late and tired were tiny obstacles compared to what Taylor has overcome in his 36 years. He was born with Retinitis Pigmentosis, a genetic eye disorder that causes a gradual loss of vision (he is now legally blind) and at age three he was run over by a car, which resulted in long-term bowel issues.