Sonia Godet is a Canadian curler, three times winner of the Paralympic Games. The hard trials that fell to her lot did not break this courageous woman. Optimism, fortitude and fortitude of character helped Sonya to be reborn for a new life, albeit not similar to the old one, but not devoid of her victories and triumphs.
Biography: childhood and family
Sonya was born on July 22, 1966 in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Before marriage, she bore the surname Melis. Abraham and Joanna Melis had four children. Sonya grew up surrounded by two older sisters and a younger brother. Her parents were immigrants, in 1962 they moved to Canada from the Netherlands. The family settled in North Vancouver - a part of Vancouver, separated by Burrard Bay, has the status of a municipality and its own administration.
At home in the Netherlands, Abraham Melis served in the Royal Navy and the National Police. The head of the family was an athlete, played football when he lived in the Netherlands, and switched to boxing and softball in Canada. The example of her father inspired Sonya to devote time to physical activity from an early age. She loved swimming, skiing and cycling, playing volleyball, tennis, softball, basketball.
Severe trauma and new life
Until the fateful day in 1997, Sonya's biography was quite ordinary: an established personal life, family, home, children. She and her husband Dan Godet settled in Vernon, located in the picturesque Okanagan Valley in southern British Columbia. Sonya gave birth to a son Colten and daughter Alisha, took care of the house and children. She did not abandon her sports hobbies, but, on the contrary, added new ones to them - horseback riding.
Riding a horse was the cause of an accident that forever changed the life of a young woman. Her horse reared up and fell back along with his rider. Sonya suffered a severe spinal cord injury, which left her paralyzed below the chest line. Mrs Godet vaguely remembers her fall from her horse and her days in the hospital. Her young children, who were 3 and 6 years old, became the main incentive to return to life.
In conditions of limited opportunities, Sonya had to re-master many familiar things and actions. In addition to her husband and loved ones, Paralympic athlete Rick Hansen helped her a lot in this. In Canada, he is known not only for sporting achievements, but also for his enormous contribution to the creation of an accessible environment for people with disabilities. Hansen shared with Sonya both his experience of overcoming everyday difficulties and adaptive opportunities for playing sports. Three years after the injury, Godet returned to an active lifestyle. She learned to play basketball, swim, ski in a new way, took up rowing and curling.
In her city, Sonia became an ambassador for the Rick Hansen Foundation, which is dedicated to creating an accessible sports environment for people with disabilities. Thanks to her efforts, basketball classes for children in wheelchairs were organized in Vernon.
Sports career
She met curling when she visited a sports club in Vernon as an accessible environment expert. She found out about the recruitment of applicants for the wheelchair curling group and decided to give it a try. At the beginning of the 2000s, this sport was just developing, and in 2006 it was first included in the Paralympic Games program.
Starting at 37 years old, Sonya quickly passed the qualifying stages of local competitions and small tournaments in order to join the national team in the 2004 Canadian Championship. In 2006 she was included in the national curling team at the Winter Paralympic Games in Turin.
In her team, Sonya almost invariably takes the position of a leading player or lead. According to the rules of curling, the lead makes the first and second rolls at the beginning of each end. The end is a part of a game match during which each team releases 8 stones. In just one meeting, 10 ends are held. At the end of each period, the winner is determined, he is awarded one point, and thus the total score of the match is kept.
At the Paralympics in Turin, Canada was the best in the group stage with five wins and only two losses. In the semifinals, Sonia Godet and her teammates beat Norway (5-4) and beat Great Britain 7-4 in the final. Canadians became the first wheelchair curling champion in Paralympic history.
Having won the first Paralympic gold medal, Gode devoted a lot of time to public work. She attended events for people with disabilities, held meetings in schools to share her story and motivation. While preparing for the next Paralympic Games, Sonya actively participated in competitions at the international level:
- Wheelchair Curling World Championship 2007 in Sweden (4th place);
- Wheelchair Curling World Championship 2007 in Switzerland (4th place);
- Wheelchair Curling World Championships 2007 in Canada (1st place).
At the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver, Canada successfully defended their title by beating South Korea 8-7 in the final. This victory was of particular importance for God and her partners. Since the games were held in their home country, the athletes were eager to please their families and compatriots who supported them throughout the tournament. This is how Sonya became the first two-time Paralympic champion in the history of wheelchair curling.
Gode was also noted as an innovator in her sport. Since 2009, she has been using an aluminum support attached to the stroller to hold onto it for more accurate throws. Before that, it was difficult for the athlete to maintain body balance, since during the throw she had to move forward strongly, as if getting out of a wheelchair. Sonya was nicknamed "The Brain" for her innovative approach to curling at the Paralympic Committee of Canada. In February 2013, she became the first wheelchair athlete to be inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame.
Sony Godet's other championship titles:
- Wheelchair Curling World Champion 2011;
- Wheelchair Curling World Champion 2013;
- Champion of the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi.
She won her third Paralympic gold medal in Sochi. Her team beat the Russian national team in the final with a score of 8-3. Throughout the tournament, the athlete shared the position of the leading player with her colleague Mark Ideson. At the opening of the games, Sonya was entrusted with the honor of carrying the flag of her country.
In 2015 and 2016, she moved to the team's place as the second player or was in the reserve. The Canadian national team then did not get to the prizes. For the fourth Paralympics in wheelchair curling history in 2018, the team went without Sonya Godet and won only bronze medals. The renowned athlete ended her professional career with outstanding results and an inspiring example for all people with disabilities.
