Olex Korniiko

Oleksandr Korniiko (Mobilility and Accessibility Specialist) – “Coach Olex” is a former high level athlete and a specialist in biathlon the sport that combines skiing with target shooting. Olex has limited lower body mobility and he uses a sit ski to compete. He represented Ukraine at the national level including the Paralympic Games in Sochi in 2014. Olex also holds two masters degrees in disciplines that specialize in providing psychological and physical supports for persons with disabilities. Beyond that, he is a certified coach and massage therapist. His accomplishments as a coach includes coaching the one time Ukrainian national champion of Tae Kwan Do and coaching hundreds of participants in multiple disciplines. He ran his own unique gym specializing in disabled athletes back home in Kyiv and now uses his coaching skills in various capacities in his new home in Canada. He has worked with Winnipeg Trails as a mobility specialist since the second year of our WinterPeg project, and he leads programs that are intended for the disabled community throughout the uear and brings an eye for accessibility to everything we do. He likes to work with his hands too and takes on all kinds of critical background logistical tasks for the organization from waxing skis to installing traffic calming, to fixing handcycles and building bike racks! His main passion lies in developing programs and supports for persons with various disabilities, of course, and he is now working on an exciting new non-profit designed to provide wrap around supports called UpGoal.