The face of a local athlete and advocate will soon be appearing on TV screens across the country.
Okotokian Chris Cederstrand is one of 24 athletes competing on the new CBC reality show, Canada's Ultimate Challenge, which debuts on Feb. 16.
"I was reached out to about the show and just decided it was going to be a very incredible opportunity to go out there and challenge myself to some pretty crazy challenges right across the whole country," he said.
The husband and father of two is well-known for his contributions to adaptive athletics, specifically sledge hockey. Cederstrand played in the Western Hockey League and worked as a firefighter before a workplace accident changed his life.
In 2004 he had his right leg amputated above the knee, but he never let that hold him back.
"Since the accident I've been fortunate enough to do some pretty cool things," said Cederstrand, who ultimately became the first above-knee firefighter in North America and a member of the National Para Hockey Team.
Now, he works as the adaptive director at the PX3 AMP hockey school in Calgary's WinSport – a program which is completely free for kids with disabilities – and acts as an ambassador for KidSport along with being involved with the Calgary Flames affiliate sledge hockey team, just to name a few.
His most recent challenge has the 41-year-old join forces with three other Canadian athletes to form Team Red, under the direction of Canadian Olympic gold medallist sprinter Donovan Bailey.
"Growing up in the 90s, seeing him become the world's fastest man, that was something that was imprinted on my mind and to have him as a coach was something that was a very, sort of surreal thing," said Cederstrand.
"He's got a very incredible way of coaching and a very high compete level and we really clicked."
Canada's Ultimate Challenge essentially turns the country into one big obstacle course, pushing six teams to complete challenges at eight different landmarks throughout the Great White North. Teams collect points based on their ranking in each challenge which are then carried forward to the next round. After week four, teams will start to be eliminated based on points.
The winning team will have the opportunity to travel to Paris to cheer on Team Canada at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games.
Being the only adaptive athlete on the show, Cederstrand is hoping to show Canadians that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
"Really, the only limitations you have are the limitations you put on yourself," he said. "Never in a million years did I think I'd be doing some of the crazy challenges that I did on the show and it was just something that was a very big learning experience for me.
"I really hope that the way I approached that, as far as the show goes, really helps inspire people to go out there and push their limitations and realize that the only obstacles you have are the ones that you put in front of yourself."
Though touring the country and rubbing elbows with some of Canada's most prestigious athletes was quite the highlight, Cederstrand said the long-lasting friendships he built with fellow competitors takes the cake.
"We talk every day now, so it was obviously very cool getting to see the countryside and compete in these amazing challenges and the whole show, but the friendships that I think resulted from that show are probably one of my things at the top of the list," he said.
Canada's Ultimate Challenge airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. MST on CBC and CBC Gem.
