BRANTFORD, Ontario (BVM) — Her massive display of gold and silver medals do not outshine her courage and inspiring words.

Meghan Josling is part of the Special Olympic Ontario (SOO) – Brantford Team, representing two sports: track and field and snowshoeing. She has qualified for Provincials and Nationals.

Josling has been working with SOO track and field head coach Jim Kruis for the last eight years. Kruis started as a volunteer coach and father of a Special Olympian.

“Meghan is super confident and a capable young athlete,” Kruis said.

Josling began snowshoe racing when the local team introduced it in 2017. This February, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, she won two gold medals.

“I was most excited about shaving 27 minutes off my best time in the 10k,” Josling said. “Winning is great but when you can go out and push yourself harder each time, that is the real reward.”

Josling knows a lot about challenging herself and moving one step at a time to achieve her goals. Josling has been living with seizure disorder from the age of 2 to 11 years old, having as many as 150 seizures in a day and averaging 12-15.

“She could not even walk down the driveway,” Leslie Josling, Meghan’s mom, said. “I taught her to walk in the grass where it was safer for her. We would have never dreamt that she could run even 100 metres let alone complete a half marathon. So, for those of us who have known her longer, this is more than inspiring, it is near miraculous.”

At the age of 10, the Joslings opted for the resective epilepsy surgery, which is the removal of a small portion of the brain. The surgeon cuts out brain tissues in the area of the brain where seizures originate.

“This was transformational for Meghan,” Leslie said.

Kruis has been there with Meghan and helped her through some frustrating times.

“I really just help her keep a level head and reel her in from time to time, but we knew she was ready for additional coaching and encouraged her to reach out to coach Donna Campbell of the Brantford track and field team,” said Kruis.

Meghan is now also a member of the Brantford track and field team, which functions as a community within Brantford.

“The minute I arrived I was treated as an equal on this neuro-typical team,” Meghan said. “They made me feel so welcome, they were encouraging and just like a family to me.”

“This is very important and does not always happen,” Leslie said. “Her ability to be part of these neuro-typical teams, helps her to see that she can be as good as anyone else, and despite anything or anyone, she is doing what could never have been expected with incredible outcomes.”

“Her focus within a competition cannot be taught,” Campbell said. “Meghan brings leadership and positivity to the entire team, and I could not be prouder to be working with an athlete with her kind of dedication to the sport.”

Even during COVID-19 times, Campbell was able to continue the training regiment via email, helping Meghan map out her 80-90 km runs per week, and stay focused on the Worlds.

“Even when tracks were closed, I improvised by mapping out graveyard paths, roadways and trails to keep all the athletes going,” Campbell said. “Meghan knows her own body well and really listens to it, as the long-term goal is to avoid injury.”

Meghan’s favorite sport is track and field.

“It is much easier than snowshoeing,” Meghan said, “as we often have to practice on the grass, slush, or even mud, and the metal grips make that very challenging, not to mention the harsher climate to deal with.”

When asked about potentially becoming a coach, Meghan said that she is indeed passionate about helping others see success in both sports. Currently, she has been assisting her friends online develop challenging work out programs and certainly knows a lot about carbohydrate loading and the basic importance of nutritional programs to be a successful athlete.

“She is definitely an inspiration to the other kids in the Brantford track and field program always encouraging them through positivity,” Campbell said. “Meghan is all about inclusion and knows what it means to be dedicated.”

Meghan has found inspiration in several young Brantford athletes that continue to push her forward, but she has had a definite advocate in Kruis, who has been with her since the beginning.

“She has her nose to the grind stone and the love for running and will continue to move forward in both sports,” Kruis said.

“Meghan, always thought ‘I will do great things, just one step at a time and now I have made the impossible, possible,’” Leslie said.

Meghan is now working toward her goal of her first Winter World Games in 2022, in Kazan, Russia and the city of Brantford could not be prouder that she will be the city’s representative.