Jody Patrick still feeling it on the badminton court

Calgary badminton player Jody Patrick represented Canada in the sport at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Now, she's a world senior champion.

Jody Patrick competed in badminton for Canada in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Twenty-four years later, she’s still got it on the court.

Whether she’s rallying with her son Soren Mercer or coach David Humble at the Calgary Winter Club, Patrick is still very competitive.

And that competitiveness paid off at the recent World Senior Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.

Patrick came home with three medals.

“This was my first Senior World Badminton Championships that’s aged 35-plus,” she said.

“We had 41 Canadians that went to compete. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I had a great result in my mixed doubles and good results in doubles and singles.”

New partner

The 47-year-old Patrick won gold in the mixed doubles despite heading over to Thailand without a partner.

She ended up getting paired with Muhammad Muhammad of Indonesia.

Despite never playing together and Patrick having to drop to plus-40 because he was younger, they still found a way to win the gold medal.

“I was able to reach out to my network of friends from past badminton competitions, and we found a player in Indonesia that was looking for a mixed partner. We partnered up having never practiced together, but he was a very strong player and I was very fortunate,” Patrick said.

Two other medals

Patrick also won bronze medals in the pairs plus-40 and the singles plus-45.

Her son says he’s very proud of his mom.

“Probably not proud enough,” he said.

“I like to tell my friends about it, and they don’t believe me.”

Good game

They’re also proud of Patrick at the Winter Club.

Humble says Patrick has many strengths on the court.

“She’s experienced, and she’s played the game for a long time,” he said.

“She’s stayed fit over the years, and that’s a big key. She trains a lot, and she’s represented herself and her club and the country really well.”

Plans to keep playing

Patrick says she’ll be back to defend her mixed doubles crown at the next World Senior Championships in two years’ time.

She says she wants to play the game for as long as she can.

“I’d love to keep playing,” she said.

“I was watching the 80-plus players, and that is my goal. I want to be one of them, one day, still playing this sport.”