“I retired from the high-performance sport of sprint canoe/kayak in April of 2018, the word retirement sounds pretty weird coming from a 21-year-old but that sport truly was a large part of my life as well as identity so the weight of the word holds true. Since retiring a lot of things have changed for me, I’ve moved from Vancouver to Ottawa switched from University to College and have transitioned from athlete to coach. Although these changes have been dramatic, I’m so happy with how things have turned out. I have shifted my passion from competing in sprint canoe to investing my energy into firefighting college. I’ve wanted to be a firefighter since I was in grade 9 and I’ve consistently felt as though there was always something I needed to do or complete before it was ‘time’, but honestly I grew tired of waiting to start my life in the profession I’ve been yearning to be a part of since the age of 15. Firefighting college has been extremely intense but rightfully so given the job. It has been an amazing experience to learn knew hands-on skills and know that I’m finally working towards my dream. Within firefighting we take 2 fitness classes a week and I also do crossfit 6 days a week because as an ex-athlete not being sore is weird. I have found that I’ve lost my competitive edge since retiring, when it’s time to dig deep within a workout I don’t have the same drive as I used to while racing, but that was one of the major reasons I chose to stop racing. I proudly wear my hankfittraining shirt while working out in my firefighting fitness class because it reminds me when my buddy Hank and I used to rip it in C2 on Burnaby lake.” – #HankFitFam Jill Perrone
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