Disability has long been viewed through a lens of limitation rather than potential. Society often associates it with weakness, dependency, and a lack of opportunity, reinforcing outdated stereotypes that hinder inclusivity. Many people with disabilities face systemic barriers in sports, education, and the workforce, often being underestimated despite their abilities. This negative perception not only affects societal attitudes but also impacts the confidence of those with disabilities, making it harder for them to access equal opportunities. However, the Canadian athlete and Paralympian Allison Lang is proving that disability is not a limitation but a different kind of strength.

Although we can say a lot of amazing things about Lang (and we will!), it would be unfair to ignore the challenges she faced along the way. Growing up with a disability, Allison Lang encountered relentless bullying, societal stigma, and the constant pressure to prove herself in a world that often overlooked her potential. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, the athlete was born missing her left leg, and that resulted in her struggle with body image and self-confidence. It took her a lot of years to embrace her uniqueness and see her disability not as a limitation, but as a source of strength that would one day inspire countless others. While growing up, she liked doing outdoor activities and played sports such as soccer, swimming, and snowboarding. However, at 15, she chose to walk away from these sports because of how she felt about herself and her body. But soon, she discovered something that would redefine her identity and purpose—sitting volleyball, a sport that turned her perceived limitation into an undeniable strength. She achieved a lot of success while playing the sport, and represented her country, Canada, at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. For her, representing her home country at such a big event was already a monumental feat.

However, she was always meant to achieve greater things in life, and her relentless determination led her to the grand stage of international competition. Representing Canada in sitting volleyball, Allison Lang proved her excellence on the court. Her hard work and perseverance paid off when she helped her team secure a bronze medal, marking a historic achievement in her athletic career. This victory was more than just a medal—it was a testament to her resilience, proving that disabilities do not define limits but rather open doors to new possibilities. Today, she is not just an athlete: she is a model, she is a disability advocate and a content creator, but most importantly, she is a symbol of resilience. I had the honor of talking to Lang about her life journey, how she coped with senseless bullying and became the woman she is now. Honestly, I have taken countless interviews in my journalistic career, but talking to Lang made me believe that she is what the “human spirit” is all about.

(For clarity purposes, the interview has been divided into two parts and the second part will be published soon.)

Here’s the interview:

Aayush Sharma: Was there a specific moment or experience that served as a turning point in your life—where you stopped seeing your disability as something that set you apart in a negative way and instead recognized it as a powerful part of your identity? 

Allison Lang: It’s been a long journey. I will be honest. Growing up, I was severely bullied. At one point, I didn’t want to be alive anymore because of the negative things that were said to me and how I was excluded from everything in school. I ended up hiding my disability as a teenager and even as a young adult. I’m 31 now, for context, but I’ve only really been comfortable with my disability identity for like six years, which is sad to say. I would say my big turning point was honestly just as COVID was starting. That sounds so weird, but, you know, people turned to, instead of being in person, being online. I started sharing a little bit more online and connecting with other people like me. The disability community is massive. I mean, we make up the largest marginalized group of people in the entire world, with 18% of the global population. Finally, I started finding role models of my own and connecting with people on shared experiences. Then I thought to myself, Okay if I’m connecting so deeply for the first time, it feels like in my entire life, why do I have a prosthetic leg that I’m trying so hard to make look real? Why don’t I just, you know, cut it apart? At that time, you couldn’t go into a doctor’s clinic because everything was shut down. So I ended up—this is dangerous, and I don’t advise any children this—but I took a knife to my prosthetic leg and cut the foam off. I said, if I’m going to authentically live as myself, I should show my metal prosthetic. I have been rocking a metal prosthetic ever since. I used to be embarrassed by it, and now when I see it, I’m like, it kind of makes me feel like a badass, you know? Yeah, I’d say that would be my big turning point.

Aayush Sharma: Having faced and overcome childhood bullying, you understand the deep impact it can have on self-esteem and mental well-being. For young people today who are struggling with body image, self-confidence, or feeling different from their peers, what would you say to help them navigate these challenges? What strategies or mindset shifts helped you rise above negativity and embrace your true self?

Allison Lang: Yeah, the first thing I want to say is that, you know, body acceptance and self-love is not linear. I might seem confident and, you know, share a lot online and talk about my vulnerable story, but I would be lying to everyone if I said I was confident each and every day. It’s like a roller coaster, and it’s something that I have worked on. I truly want to encourage anyone to start this self-love journey because it has only made me more confident for the long run and more calm. I have more confident days than negative days now. The way that I would do it when I was really young—I actually had a full-length mirror in my bedroom. I would get a whiteboard marker and write things I loved about myself in there. I would try to refrain from writing anything about my appearance and focus more on what is on the inside because that is truly more important. How do you make yourself feel? How do you make other people feel? How do you connect with others? So I would write things like, ‘You’re hilarious’, or ‘You have a family that loves you’ or ‘You’re smart, and you got accepted into university’. Just these reminders of things that are so much more important than our body image.

As a young teen, I always focused more on what I looked like than the impact I had on the world. In addition to that, I would start a gratitude journal and write three little things that I was grateful for that day. So often, we focus on what’s going wrong and complain about little things that happen, but looking at the grand picture and thinking of three things you’re grateful for kind of changes your brain chemistry. Focusing on the positive has really helped the way I’ve navigated through life, and I’m really hoping that other people can start to do that as well.

(Image Courtesy: allisonelang/Facebook)

Breaking Barriers and Making History: Allison Lang on Paralympic Triumph and Mental Resilience

Aayush Sharma: What was the first moment that made you realize that you want to be a professional athlete? And how was that decision significant for you?

Allison Lang: I wish I was a professional athlete. We don’t pay Paralympic or Olympic athletes as professionals in Canada, unfortunately—hopefully one day. But yeah, it’s different in every country. Here, we are considered elite athletes. I’ll be honest, I never knew that I wanted to be an elite athlete, and it’s sad because I’ve been disabled my whole life. I was born with my disability, and the Paralympics aren’t broadcasted the same way as the Olympic Games. Even though I was a young child with a disability, I didn’t even know the Paralympics existed. That almost feels like putting a glass ceiling over disabled children. I didn’t know I could aspire to do something like this. Honestly, I grew up playing sports completely different from volleyball. I played soccer, did swimming, and started snowboarding at 11. I loved these sports, but as I got older, I tried hiding my prosthetic. I quit swimming because I couldn’t hide my leg anymore. In soccer, I pulled my socks up over my knees so they met my shorts, hiding the color difference. At 15, I quit sports altogether because of my body image. It was Team Canada and a girl I knew on the team invited me to try sitting volleyball. It was a brand-new sport, and I was reluctant to go. My mom insisted, saying, “I know it’s an adaptive sport, but you need to try it. Who knows? You might love it.”

At that time, I distanced myself from anything disability-related and didn’t want to play an adaptive sport, fearing people would think less of me. But when I went, I not only loved the sport—I sucked at it at first. Moving on the ground is hard, and it’s much faster than indoor and standing volleyball. But the group of women I met changed everything. I talked about lacking role models growing up, and then I walked into a room full of female athletes just like me—women with partners, homes, careers, children—everything I wanted but didn’t know I could have. People with disabilities were never shown as main characters in a positive way. That’s what kept me on the team. I took a break for university, but I’ve now been playing for almost nine years with the same women. They’re some of my closest friends, and they are strong advocates. This year, we made it our mission to elevate the Paralympic movement and talk about us as Paralympic athletes. That’s why I shared so much online while I was at the Games. I wanted to showcase that, yes, they’re similar to the Olympics but also different and unique. People always ask, “Why aren’t they combined?” Number one, that would be impossible—there are far too many athletes to house all at once. Number two, the Paralympics deserve their own identity. There’s something deeper: showing that people can go through illness or accidents and still come out on top as elite athletes representing their country.

Disability isn’t a scary thing. Anyone can become disabled at any time, but you can still become or remain an athlete and not be stripped of your personal identity. The Paralympic community is welcoming. This past summer, I felt so graciously embraced, and I truly hope people are learning what the Paralympics stand for. People often think “para” in Paralympics means paraplegic, but it actually means “parallel,” running alongside the Olympic Games. It’s such a beautiful message.

Aayush Sharma: Winning Canada’s first Paralympic podium finish in sitting volleyball is historic. What emotions ran through you in that moment?

Allison Lang: Just talking about it makes me a little emotional. It still feels surreal. I know it happened, but at the same time, it went by so quickly. We worked as a team for three and a half years since Tokyo to get to this. Our goal was to hit the podium, and we reached that. Like you said, we won the very first sitting volleyball medal ever for Canada and the first summer sports team medal since London 2012. We broke two records at the Games, which is crazy to say—I have goosebumps just talking about it. I was so emotional that day. The moment the whistle blew when we beat Brazil in that last set, I immediately started crying and couldn’t stop. Every photo of me shows tears streaming down my face, making an ugly crying face. (laughs) I said it in an interview right after, and I’ll say it again—it means so much in my heart. We weren’t just doing this for ourselves. We did this for our country, but more importantly, for young disabled children, to show them they can aspire to do anything. They can achieve great things with their disability, make history, and bring home a medal.

At that moment, I felt like an inner part of my younger self was healed. For so long, I was picked last in gym class, made fun of, pushed over. Kids stole my prosthetic or buried my crutches in the sandbox. I felt like I had such a limitation compared to others because of bullying. But to go represent my country, win a medal, and become a Paralympic bronze medalist—it’s indescribable. Honestly, my dream has been to not prove anything to others, but to prove to myself that I am more than capable of achieving anything I set my mind to. It feels monumental to share this moment not only with myself but with my team and so many others. I love it. Now, whenever I speak at schools, I bring my medal. I let the kids touch it, hoping it shows them that they can aspire to anything they want. And yeah, it still makes me emotional—probably for the rest of my life.

Team Canada posing with their Bronze medal at the 2024 Paralympic games (Image Courtesy: allisonelang/Facebook)

Aayush Sharma: How do you mentally prepare for high-pressure competitions, especially ones with historic implications?

Allison Lang: Yeah, it was a big mental hurdle for me. Honestly, it was my first paralympics. Many of my teammates had been to Rio and Tokyo, but Tokyo had no spectators, so it was quiet. In Paris, we had a sold-out stadium with 20,000 people—the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of. It was also proof that people wanted to watch the Paralympics. Sold-out arenas of over 20,000 just for sitting volleyball! Track had 80,000, also sold out. And 11 million people tuned in from Canada alone. That’s crazy—so many people watching. I knew I’d be nervous, and I figured my teammates would be too, even with experience. You could see it in our first game against Slovenia and our first game against Brazil. We actually lost to Brazil in the preliminary round, then beat them in the bronze medal match. It was amazing to shake those nerves off and come back stronger. It’s about confidence, knowing you’ve prepared for that moment. But I won’t say we lacked support—we had plenty. My team alone had a mental performance coach who helped us focus, block out distractions, and take it one point at a time.

We also had a mental health lead because daily life impacts performance. Distractions happen, so how do you shut them out and focus? Trusting teammates is key. Some of them are lifelong friends, but in a match like that, you have no choice but to work together. You look at each other, even after losing a point, and say, ‘I trust you. We’ll get the next one’. For three years, we focused on the mental game. You can be physically fit, but excelling in sports requires mental fitness too. I even came up with little tricks to use on the court.

(Part 2 of the Interview will be published soon)