The 2022 Beijing Paralympics have a Northwest connection as Smithers own Adam Kingsmill will be competing for Team Canada.
Kingsmill is the goalie for the Team Canada hockey team and will be playing against the United States this evening.
This is the 22 year-olds Paralympic debut and his mom Bobbie Kingsmill, his family wish they could be there with him but they understand with the COVID-19 pandemic that they couldn’t go.
Kingsmill says she is super proud of Adam.
“He’s worked for this and he has done this all on his own, we have supported him, but we have never pushed him, he has decided to do this and we have stood back and supported him, so we are so proud that he has done this all on his own,” she said.
According to Bobbie, she talked to Adam a few days ago where he showed her around his apartment at the Olympic Village
She added that hockey has always been Adam’s main focus and he started skating when he was 2.5 years old.
When Adam was two years old, he was involved in a lawnmower accident which caused him to lose his right leg.
Bobbie said that it was never a challenge for Adam to play hockey and other sports while having a prosthetic leg.
“We didn’t treat him any differently than his brother and he wanted to be with the boys and he wanted to be with his friends and he just carried on. Every once and awhile we had prosthetic issues but he has worked his way through it and he’s just been a normal kid,” she said.
The Smithers Boston Pizza on Main Street will be hosting viewing parties while Team Canada is playing in support of Adam.
His first game is this evening at 8:45 pm B.C time.