SWAMPSCOTT — Maureen McKinnon is determined to be defined by what she can do instead of by what she cannot. Despite being wheelchair-bound for the last 30 years, she became a Paralympic gold medalist in sailing and followed that with a fulfilling career as an engagement assistant at the Residence at Vinnin Square.
In 1995, McKinnon tripped on a rope next to an ocean seawall and fell 13 feet. Shortly after the incident, she was confident that her physical ability would never be the same.
“I had gone to a little bit of nursing school at Northeastern, so I understood the structures of the body and realized that I was going to be paralyzed,” McKinnon explained. “I knew it before I felt it.”
By 2025, McKinnon will have spent the same amount of time in her life before and after the accident. However, she has always been resolute about not letting her disability stop her from accomplishing great feats.
After first learning to sail while in college, McKinnon decided to reignite her passion after meeting another paraplegic at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead.
“I asked him a ton of questions and found out that there were opportunities to sail as a competitor,” McKinnon said.
After coming up short in her attempt to qualify for the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, McKinnon broke through in 2008 and won the gold medal in the two-person sailing category in Beijing. She detailed how she was inspired by her sailing partner, Nick Scandone, as he was fighting ALS while they were teammates.
“It was predicted by many he would not even live long enough to go do it,” McKinnon said. “He passed away three months after we got the gold.”
McKinnon is grateful to the residence’s Resident Engagement Director Alicia Malley for giving her the opportunity and not judging her for her paralysis.
“Hiring people with disabilities is part of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” McKinnon said. “It isn’t always about race and gender.”
Residents sitting on the facility’s front porch witness McKinnon drive into the parking lot, get out of her car, and get in her wheelchair independently on a daily basis. She organizes daily activities for more than 40 seniors, including crossword puzzles, Wordle, and other mental exercises that she does with the group.
“I can relate to so many of our residents who do not have perhaps the mobility or the memory that they had at one time,” McKinnon said.
