interview
As a child, Katrina Webb successfully hid her disability from
almost everyone. But when she made it to elite level sport as
a teenager, her secret – mild cerebral palsy on her right side –
was exposed. Deciding to embrace her difference instead of
hiding it, Katrina went on to become a three-time Paralympian
and three-time gold medallist. Now a successful business
woman inspiring leadership for the greater good, Katrina
shares her story with Link.
K
atrina remembers having to I participated in sports once a
wear a plaster on her right leg week, and then practised on
to bed every night as a child, my own as well, I could actually
until she stopped growing.
“When other kids at school wore
plasters, it was because something
was broken. And so, in my head, I was
broken,” she said.
“I thought if people knew I was
“But I was having to work so hard
to hide my weakness.
“I can’t curl my right toes, I can’t
move them or point them, which
means I can’t balance. My right leg is
broken then they might tease me thinner and shorter than my left leg
about this ugly plaster, so I asked my and I limp when I’m tired.
parents if we could not tell anyone. If
“I was worried about people
a friend was coming to stay, I wouldn’t seeing all of that … at ballet, the
wear my plaster for the night. teacher would tell me to point my
“I guess my parents were okay
toes, but I just couldn’t.”
with it because what was wrong hadn’t Katrina ended up learning to
been labelled as cerebral palsy at that lie and to have answers ready for
stage, they were just told I had a mild her ballet teacher and others. But
injury to my brain during my formation constantly pre-empting what people
in-utero which meant a weakness on might ask was exhausting.
my right side.”
Keeping her secret safe among her
“It took up so much energy,
working out what to say, trying not
immediate family, Katrina said she set to limp, wearing jeans all the time
out to show the rest of the world that to cover up my thinner leg … I was
she was “good enough”. putting all this work into trying to be a
“Even with the weakness on my
right side, I worked out that if
linkonline.com.au
be quite good,” she said.
version of myself that I wasn’t born to
be,” she said.
interview
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