Canadian wheelchair racer Cody Fournie secures gold in men’s T51 200m | CBC Sports

When Cody Fournie was at a crossroads in his athletic career, he headed for the track.

The former national wheelchair rugby team player captured wheelchair racing gold Tuesday at the Paralympic Games in Paris.

The 35-year-old from Victoria won the men’s T51 200 metres for Canada’s second gold medal in Paris after Nicholas Bennett’s swimming gold the previous evening.

“During COVID I was in a transition period and not really knowing what I was going to do,” Fournie explained Tuesday.

“I didn’t know how much longer rugby was going to go for me. I just ran into someone and they directed me to coach Geoff [Harris] and everything else is history.”

Fournie posted the fastest 200 of his career with a time of 37.64 seconds.

WATCH l Fournie wins Paralympic gold:

The victory comes in Fournie’s first-ever race at a Paralympic Games.

“It’s not a bad start at all. It’s been a lot of hard work. My coach and I have put in a lot of effort and time,” Fournie said. “The 200 has always been the most difficult for me so it’s something we’ve worked on the hardest.

“I executed [the race] perfectly.”

Silver medallist Toni Piispanen of Finland finished in 38.55 and bronze medallist Peter Genyn of Belgium in 38.65.

Fournie earned a silver medal in the 100 metres in May at the World Para Athletics Championship in Kobe, Japan.

He competes in that race Friday at 2:56 p.m. ET, with live streaming coverage available on CBC Gem, the Paris 2024 website and the Paris 2024 mobile app.

“I’ve never raced in front of so many people before,” he said in a packed Stade de France. “My family is back home watching online. It was great to hear the cheer of the crowd.”

WATCH | Fournie discusses gold medal:

Reaction from Canada’s Cody Fournie after striking gold in Paris

Cody Fournie of Victoria claimed gold in the men’s 200-metres T51 capturing Canada’s second gold medal of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

A quadriplegic since the age of 11, Fournie started playing wheelchair rugby in 2010 before switching to the track just over a decade later.

“The transition from rugby to racing helps because I was putting so much time and effort into training,” he said. “What was the most difficult part about racing was getting this chair figured out.

“With not having any stomach muscles, I had to use my head to change the direction of the chair and that took quite a while to figure out.”

Fournie’s medal was Canada’s third in track and field. Wheelchair racers Brent Lakatos won a silver medal and Austin Smeenk a bronze.