PARIS – A look at 10 Canadian athletes to watch in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.
Aurelie Rivard, swimming
Five-time Paralympic freestyle champion and double gold medallist at the Tokyo Paralympics, the 27-year-old from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., holds world records in three freestyle events in the S10 classification (left hand impairment). Rivard’s first race is the 50-metre freestyle Thursday.
Jacob Wasserman, rowing
A survivor of a bus crash that killed 16 members of the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team in 2018, the 24-year-old from Humboldt, Sask., is Canada’s lone para rower in Paris. Wasserman, who was paralyzed from the waist down in the crash, will race in PR1 single category for spinal cord injuries Sunday.
Kate O’Brien, track cycling
Raced for Canada’s Olympic team in Rio in 2016 a year before a velodrome crash left her with a brain injury and broken bones. The 34-year-old Calgarian won Paralympic time trial silver in Tokyo in C4-5 (leg co-ordination limitations) and world championship silver medals in 2022 and 2023. O’Brien races Thursday.
Nate Riech, track and field
Reigning Paralympic and world champion and world-record holder in the men’s 1,500 T38 (co-ordination impairment), the 28-year-old from Victoria has been unbeatable in major events since 2018. Reich was struck in the back of the head by a golf ball at age 10, which resulted in a brain injury that affected the right side of his body. Riech races the 1,500 during the track finale Sept. 7.
Tess Routliffe, swimming
A bar fell on her back during a weightlifting session and kept Routliffe out of Tokyo’s Paralympic Games. The 25-year-old from Caledon, Ont., whose hypochondroplasia causes shortened limbs, also known as dwarfism, is the reigning SM7 women’s world champion in the 200 medley and 100 breaststroke. She races the 200 medley Saturday.
Stefan Daniel, triathlon
Five-time world champion won Paralympic silver in 2016 in the sport’s Paralympic debut and bronze in Tokyo. The 26-year-old Calgarian, who was born with bilateral radial club hands, took bronze in a Paris test event in 2023. Para triathlon is a 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometre cycle and a five-kilometre run. Daniel races Sunday.
Alison Levine, boccia
Ranked No. 2 in the world in women’s singles and also second in pairs with fellow Montrealer Iulian Ciobanu, Levine is primed for a podium in the wheelchair sport. The 34-year-old has a degenerative neuromuscular disorder and competes in the BC4 classification for athletes with severe disabilities. Levine kicks off pool play Thursday in women’s singles.
Patrick Anderson, wheelchair basketball
Widely known as the “Michael Jordan of wheelchair basketball”, the 45-year-old musician from Fergus, Ont., has helped Canada win three Paralympic gold medals (2000, 2004, 2012) and a silver (2008), and led the tournament in scoring in London in 2012. Paris is his Paralympic swan song. The men’s hoops team opens Friday against host France.
Brent Lakatos, track and field
Veteran wheelchair racer from Dorval, Que., is the reigning world champion in the T53 800 metres. The 43-year-old owns a career 11 Paralympic medals, including four silver from Tokyo where he was Canada’s flag-bearer for the closing ceremonies. His first race is Friday’s 5,000-metre heat.
Amy Burk, women’s goalball
Goalball captain from Charlottetown aims to lead the Canadian women to their first gold since 2004 in Burk’s fifth Paralympic Games. Canada defeated the U.S. 4-3 to take gold in the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile. The 34-year-old ‘s court time was limited by back spams in Tokyo three years ago. Canada’s first opponent Thursday is host France.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2024.
