Put yourself in Tia’s (@littlewolf1311) shoes for a few moments. Imagine your older brother has disabilities. Imagine the different impact that may make on your life - being a young caregiver, the sacrifices you make, circumstances that you may go through, the possible lack of attention at times, knowing your life is very different to your friends BUT also think about the unique opportunity you may have of gaining strength, empathy, unconditional love & a different perspective on life at such a young age, that others only manage to gain after years of life experiences.
Tia loves triathlon. She loves a personal challenge. She loves her brother. She recognises Rio’s passion for participating in races. She has grown up where inclusion is the norm not a novelty token tick in the box. She has grown up around the triathlon world & watching her father race with Rio. So since she was 7 she chose to participate in triathlons as a solo athlete. Since she was 9 she chose for some of her races she would race with Rio with inclusion. She has always lead her path on her terms.
This video is where she is today.
She has some big goals ahead - with Rio & as a solo athlete.
Rio participates in races/activities every weekend; be it with dad, mum, sister or our WolfPack. This makes him happy, this is his life passion, this is his right. His smile in the photos/videos says it all. Participating together with his sister gives him the biggest smile - their bond is magical.
To put it into perspective, Tia is 15, weighs 48kgs, Rio is 19 weighs 52kgs. On the bike she is pushing over 70kgs (Rio + the bike) where most are on a 5kg bike!
As parents we are VERY proud of Tia & Rio. We are inspired by Tia’s strength, determination, commitment and accomplishments. We are inspired by Rio’s strong determination, focus, dedication & accomplishments to his passion of racing. It motivates us. But, our biggest wish is when people watch this video is NOT to be inspired by Tia including Rio or for Rio participating in the race - as participation within community events should be a given right for all people of any ability, whom want to participate; we would love for it to be seen as an ordinary norm, not inspiring or exceptional.
This race was Grit + Toinc Mamzar triathlon Super Sport Events Together they completed the sprint distance - 750m Swim, 20km Bike, 5km Run