Katarina Roxon's gold inspiration for young athletes

KatarinaRoxon'sParalympicgold medal victory will give future athletes in this province something to strive for, say coaches.

"I hope it galvanizes kids across this country," swim coach Dave Ling said.

"FromKippensto St. John's to all the way to the west coast of Canada. We want kids involved in our sport."

The head coach for the St. John's Legends swim club is already feeling the impact ofwins by Team Canada in Rio de Janeiro this year.

"We are in the middle of the tryouts for our new seasonand we're already having record numbers of kids showing up," he toldCBC News.

"Signing up based upon the success of PennyOleksiak[who won four medals at the 2016 Olympics],and we hope thatKatarina'ssuccess will also galvanize the community and bring more kids out as well."

For thehead coach of the province's Special Olympics soccer team,a person from this province who performs at the top of their game becomes a role model.

"When athletes see peers, or local athletes, hit the world's stage and do as well as they've done, it does inspire other athletes," saidTravisMaher.

"Whether Olympics,Paralympics, Special Olympicsit doesn't really matterto try and make their personal best even better and to strive and do better overall in whatever sport they are participating in."