Sportmanship salvages paratrack racer's hopes in Edmonton

Ryan Shay was unaware of it, but by the time his plane had landed at the Edmonton his chance to medal at the National Track and Field Championships this weekend was all but over.

Shay, 21, a paratrack wheelchair racer from Yarmouth, N.S., said his chair did not survive the Westjet flight.

"As soon as I got here and checked my chair, the front forks were just bent and twisted a little bit - squished inwards - so they're probably, it's beyond repair," he said.

"As soon as you bend those things back, the metal gets too weak.

"Everything has got to be to a certain degree and angle, so it's something that you need to just get a new piece."

Shay's races could have ended there, if it wasn't for an act of sportsmanship from a fellow racer.

Ben Brown told Shay he had a spare chair, the only problem was that it was sitting in his apartment back on the East Coast.

But a couple of phone calls later, a plan came together.

"He mentions that his parents are coming," Brown said. "I call my mom and get her to go in my apartment and get that spare fork, and get whatever I need out of my chair that I got damaged last year that's salvageable."

When Shay's parents arrived in Edmonton, they had the necessary spare parts.

Shay said even though the modified chair is aligned somewhat differently from his usual chair, he will make the best of it.

"Life throws you curve balls, you can either sit there and get caught looking, and strike out, or you can try to hit the ball and get on base or hit the home run. That's how I look at life."

WestJet has offered Shay compensation of $1,900, but he said the chair is worth $6,000.

"They're really sincere with it and they give me their apologies, but they say they have maximum liabilities, that they can only pay certain amounts."