Brock Chessell picks up a gold, two bronze in Newcastle, England in August
By Pat Payton
Brock Chessell may soon have a dilemma . . . finding extra space in his room to hang all the medals he’s bringing home from World and Canadian transplant games.
The 13-year-old St. Marys resident travelled to Newcastle, England Aug. 19-24 to participate in the World Transplant games and represent Canada. The Grade 8 Holy Name student earned a gold medal in ball throw, and bronze medals in the 50-metre swim and badminton. He also competed in the long jump and the 100-metre dash.
1,400 athletes from 59 countries
In Newcastle, Brock was one of approximately 1,400 athletes from 59 different countries.
Brock Chessell was the recipient of a liver transplant over two years ago after being diagnosed with liver cancer in April of 2017 (hepatoblastoma).
It’s been a busy year and a half since Brock’s full recovery. In August, 2018, he competed in his first Canadian Transplant games in Vancouver. He was in five events and collected five gold medals. His events were the long jump, the 100-metre dash, the ball throw, 50-metre swim and bowling.
And last spring, the hard-working forward was a key member of the OMHA champion Firefighter ‘BB’ Peewees.
Receives stick from Leafs’ star
Another hockey highlight for Brock last season was receiving a stick from Maple Leafs’ star forward Mitch Marner before an NHL game in Toronto. It attracted lots of media coverage.
“It was pretty cool,” Brock’s dad Chris told the Independent. “He had two days where he almost had to take off school because Global News came down to the house and the London TV station were here. He also did a couple of radio interviews. It was a crazy couple of days.
“Brock has the stick up in his room and he’s pretty proud to have it.”
Notes:
–This season, Brock Chessell is a member of the ANAF ‘BB’ Bantams.
–Brock’s parents are Chris and Julie Chessell, of St. Marys.
–Two more Transplant Games are on the horizon for Brock. He will compete in the Canadian games in Winnipeg next year, and the World games in Houston, Texas in 2021.
