Local news delivered daily to your email inbox. Subscribe for FREE to the rdnewsNOW newsletter.

Cunnington’s story of perseverance hits the big screen

Feb 7, 2019 | 2:33 PM

There are few stories of perseverance greater than that of Red Deer’s own Tammy Cunnington.

Now her story is playing out on the big screen.

Power on Water is a movie that follows Cunnington’s journey at the 2016 Rio Paralympic games, and her ability to keep battling even when not getting the results she wants.

The movie was produced by local production company The CACHE Project and was directed by Reuben Tshetter.

Cunnington is very happy with how the movie turned out.

“I think Reuben did a really good job of capturing the efforts that it took, and my passion for sport and fitness and desire to spread the love of health and fitness to the people around me.”

At just six-years-old, Cunnington suffered an injury while watching an airshow that put her in a wheelchair. She decided to get involved with wheelchair sports and even played on the national wheelchair basketball team.

She really found her calling when she started swimming. She dominated international competitions, first in the 2015 Parapan America Games when she posted a triple medal performance. She picked up a silver at the Para World Series last May.

A run of bad luck including injuries and illness led to a tough go at the 2016 Paralympic in Brazil. Despite that Cunnington says her swimming days are far from over.

“Well at the moment I’m not quite ready to retire, and I’d like to finish my career on my own terms and in a way that will make me happy.

“I am training and I am prepping for, I know it’s a year in advance, but for Tokyo Trials which will be in April of 2020, and you know my ultimate goal will be to make that Tokyo team and finish my career on a high note.”

Power on Water can be viewed on demand at the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery’s historic exhibit on weekdays from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm, and weekends form 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

It will also be shown at Carnival Cinemas Feb 22 at 6 p.m. during the Central Alberta Film Festival, where it has been nominated for an award for best short documentary.