From a chronic injury, to a heartbreaking last-place performance at the London Olympics, to a diagnosis of anemia that knocked her out of the world championships, Paula Findlay has had one rough year.
Then last week, the 23-year-old triathlete from Edmonton who trains in Victoria revealed on her blog that her dad Max is battling cancer. But rather than look at it as more horrible news in a what-else-can-go-wrong kind of season, Findlay said her dad's illness has helped her put everything in perspective.
"As hard as I've had it this past year, I haven't had it that bad compared to a lot of people, with all the recent events that have happened, the hurricane in New York, and the Lance Armstrong situation and my dad being sick. . . there's lots of people who have had it a lot worse off than me," Findlay over the phone from California.
The former world No. 1 triathlete came in last at the London Olympics. Because of a hip injury that had plagued her for a year, she'd only had six solid weeks of training before London.
After coming home, blood work showed she was anemic, forcing her to withdraw from the world championships in New Zealand.
Last week, her dad underwent surgery for colon cancer.
"I don't have any regrets about the past year, I'm very very lucky to have been a part of the Canadian Olympic team and it's a lot of hard work, but coming last at the Olympics is not the worst thing that can happen to you," Findlay said.
"Although it's disappointing and I put so much into it - and that's the reason it's so disappointing - learning from it and moving forward is important and I'm doing OK with that and having to put it in perspective for my dad has helped."
Findlay said her "very stubborn and determined" dad is doing well. He was home from the hospital four days earlier than expected and is up and walking and eating solid food.
While her father recuperates, Findlay travelled to Morgan Hill, California, this week to be fitted with a new Specialized bike. Technicians gave her a bigger frame and adjusted the handle bars and pedals to help combat the hip injury that sidelined her for so much of last season.
Findlay also has a new coach in Joel Filliol, former coach of Olympic champion Simon Whitfield and former head coach of the British team. The two will be based out of Victoria, but will spend much of the winter doing warm-weather training in Arizona and Florida.
