Canadian Parapan Am Team Day 8 Summary: An Avalanche of Nine Medals

• Four medals in paracycling, three in para-swimming
• Rob Shaw gold medalist in wheelchair tennis
• Canadians win gold and Canadians advance to wheelchair basketball final

LIMA , Peru, Aug. 30, 2019 / CNW / – Thanks to a superb performance with nine medals on Friday, the Canadian Parapan Am Team has raised its medal count to 45 at the Parapan Am Games in Lima 2019. The country has won four medals. gold, two silver and three bronze in four sports: para-cycling, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball and para-swimming.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY

The Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball team is the new Parapan American Games champion after a winning game in which she triumphed in the United States. Canada trailed at the end of each of the first three quarters, but they managed to drop their opponent with a fourth quarter of 20-12. Kady Dandeneau is the best scorer in the Maple Leaf with 25 points, including some decisive shots at the end of the game, followed by Arinn Young , who scored 20 points. This is the opposite of the result of the Toronto 2015 Games four years ago when the Canadians had lost to the Americans in the final.

“The team has amazing chemistry and we are a group of tight woven girls. Everyone is thrilled. What I remember from the tournament are all the memories we have created. ” 
– Arinn Young

“All athletes dream about it. All hours devoted to training, long hours at the gym, the pain of bodybuilding; it’s worth it in times like this. There is nothing better than playing this kind of match. That’s why we work, we athletes. To be able to reach our goals, to win the gold medal. There is no better feeling. ” 
– Kady Dandeneau

The Canadian men’s wheelchair basketball team still has a lot of work to do, but it took an important step in qualifying for Tokyo 2020. The team won 62-42 over Colombia in the semifinals, which allowed her to access the gold medal game, but also to get the third place she needed to secure a spot at the Paralympic Games. Patrick Anderson is the best scorer of the game with 20 points, followed by Nik Goncin (14), Bo Hedges (12) and David Eng (10).

“I’m proud of our program and how everyone has improved since last summer after our disappointing result at the World Championships. Everyone has taken up the challenge and we have come back to take our place among the best teams in the world. This is an important step for us, but we are not yet satisfied. ” 
– Patrick Anderson

Rob Shaw moved into the history of Canadian tennis by becoming the first player standing or in a wheelchair to win a singles medal at multi-sport Games; he triumphed over the second racket in the world, the American David Wagner , to get his hands on the gold medal. For the Canadian player, it is a first victory over his opponent in eight attempts. He started strong with a 4-0 run en route to a 6-1, 6-3 single quad victory. As the category is in its early days in Lima , this also makes him the first champion in the quad category of the Parapanamerican Games.

“No doubt, this is the most important victory of my career in terms of the size of the competition and the number of spectators in the stands. Some of my other wins are even more emotional, but there is nothing better than winning the gold medal. ” 
– Rob Shaw

Canada’s para-cyclists continue to accumulate podiums with a four-medal harvest on the first day of the road events. In his first multi-sport Games, handcycling athlete Matthew Kinnie reached the top of the podium in the H1-5 Mixed Time Trial to win the gold medal in 31: 17,880. Michael Shetler won his first medal, the bronze of the T1-2 mixed time trial.

“I’m a little surprised to win the gold medal, but mostly satisfied after a long training season where I worked very hard to achieve this result. To have a good race on a beautiful course on the Peruvian coast is an experience out of the ordinary. ” 
– Matthew Kinnie

All three tandems in Canada now have seven medals in Lima 2019, after adding two medals to their track event harvest. Lowell Taylor and rider Andrew Davidson took silver in the mixed time trial (their second silver medal of the Games) and Carla Shibley and her pilot Meghan Lemiski , bronze. The latter two can now claim to have a medal of each color, they who had already collected gold and silver at the velodrome.

“I think it’s really cool to have a medal of every color. For a few years, I thought I was not going anywhere as an athlete, but this year I see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is just the beginning and I can not wait to see what the future holds. ” 
– Carla Shibley

Nicholas Bennett was back at the pool for a third consecutive night. He won a third gold medal and a fourth podium in the men’s S14 category. He finished first in the 200 individual medley by rewriting the Canadian record with a time of 2: 15.56 while his teammate Tyson MacDonald took silver (his third medal in Lima ) by stopping the clock at 2: 19.60. This is the second time that the 15-year-old and the 23-year-old share the podium in Lima . The third medal went to Arianna Hunsickerat 400 m S10 women. This is his fifth bronze medal of the Games. Canada’s pool harvest amounts to 20 medals before the last day of the swim events.

“On the first day or the second day, I said that I would get a double for Canada and it happened in the 200 IM. I was half dead at the end of the butterfly because it was my worst swim, but I gave everything in the other 150 meters to catch up to me and I could not be more proud. ”   
– Tyson MacDonald

Canada will play gold in parabadminton thanks to Yuka Chokyu who managed to advance to the women’s singles final in Friday’s wheelchair race with a win over Brazil’s Souza in the semifinal. Olivia Meier is also in good shape to win a medal in the standing category in women’s singles and mixed doubles (with Pascal Lapointe ) after three victories in both categories. In the men’s wheelchair category, Bernard Lapointe and Richard Peter lost in semifinal doubles, as did Wyatt Lightfoot , William Roussy and Pascal Lapointein their respective categories. They will play for the bronze medal.

The goallbal women’s team delivered a thrilling semi-final performance that tied Brazil 3-3 with a late goal by Amy Burk that forced an overtime. The first three-minute period went by without the teams finding the back of the net, but at the end of the second, Brazil secured their place in the final with a 4-3 win. The Canadians will play the bronze medal in Mexico on Saturday.

At the end of the prelims of the individual boccia event, four Canadians advance to the playoffs. Marco Dispaltrodefeated his team-mate Iulian Ciobanu 7-1 in the BC4 semi-final, allowing him to advance to the gold medal game. Iulian Ciobanu will play for the bronze medal. Earlier in the day, Iulian Ciobanu defeated teammate Alison Levine in the quarterfinals. Éric Bussière’s path stopped in the quarter-finals BC3.

For all August 30 results from the Canadian Parapan Am Team, CLICK HERE .

 

SOURCE Canadian Paralympic Committee (Sponsorships)