THE WORLD CATCHES UP
Canada no longer dominates Paralympics
Even if Canada’s dominance at the Summer Paralympics continues to wane in Rio de Janeiro, there will still be gold, silver and bronze linings for the movement itself.
And Chantal Petitclerc thinks the bigger picture is an important one.
“The Games are tougher. That’s the reality,” said the highly decorated former wheelchair racer, who is chef de mission for Team Canada at the Paralympics, which kick off Sept. 7 in Brazil.
“Canada has been a pioneer when it comes to Paralympic sport, so we kind of take it for granted that we were so dominant for so long. And then something good happened. A lot of countries that in the past did not see value in investing in Paralympic sport, in integrating Paralympic programs and coaching and all these great things, all those countries started to catch up.”
Indeed. Canada finished 20th overall — its lowest ranking ever at a Summer Paralympics — and won just 31 medals four years ago in London. That’s a significant shock for a country that harvested 38 gold in 2000 and 96 all told, to finish third. The count has deteriorated ever since — 72 medals in Athens in 2004, 50 in Beijing in 2008 — and the 162 athletes named to Team Canada on Monday will be hard-pressed to stop the slide, such is the state of world competition in the 19 sports they will contest in Rio.
Complicating matters is the fact Canada has entered a rebuilding phase, having lost multi-medallists like Petitclerc and fellow wheelchair racers Dean Bergeron and Andre Beaudoin to retirement.
“What this all means is we are at a point where it is a team that is rebuilding, with a lot of young athletes, many of them who will be at their first Games,” said Petitclerc. “All of that makes it positive if we can end up top 16 with just about the same number of medals as we did in London. I would be very happy, because it would mean we are on track with where we want to be in the next two Games.”
Four years ago, the swim team won 16 of Canada’s 31 medals, led by Summer Mortimer with four, Valerie Grand’Maison and Benoit Huot with three apiece.
Next month, Canada will again look to the pool, the track, and the wheelchair rugby, cycling and triathlon teams for podium finishes. Wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos, swimmers Huot and Aurelie Rivard, triathlete Stefan Daniel, cyclist Tristen Chernove and shot putter Pamela LeJean are names to watch.
“I think we’re in a better place than 2012,” said Huot, who has 19 Paralympics medals to his credit. “I don’t know as much for the other sports, but for swimming, it’s looking great. Aurelie is definitely the next Penny Oleksiak of our sport or movement. It will be her second Paralympics but she is favoured in a lot of events, which we didn’t necessarily have in London.
“In the general summer sports, we didn’t do as well as we’ve done before,” continued Huot. “But I’m very positive, just looking at world championships from 2015, whether it’s track or swimming or the team sports, and what happened in the Parapan Am Games as well, I think we’re in a better place. With the development of younger athletes, we will be better in Rio and I think it’s looking even greater for 2020. We are on a positive path right now.”
That can certainly be said of the wheelchair rugby squad, which took home silver in London.
“I think we’d all be a little disappointed if we didn’t come out with a medal,” said Zak Madell, who should lead the scoring parade for Canada in Rio. “And I think we’re gunning to hopefully win ourselves a gold. I don’t see any reason why that couldn’t happen.”
Canada grabbed the top podium spot at the Parapan Ams in Toronto and followed it up with another gold at the World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge in London, where the competition was as deep as it will be in Rio.
With triathlon making its Paralympics debut, Daniel is another gold-medal hope. At the tender age of 19, he’s the reigning world champ, having knocked off twotime winner Martin Schulz of Germany last October in Chicago.
“It was a big confidence boost for myself to see that I actually can beat these guys,” Daniel said of the world title, which also qualified him for Rio. “There’s lots of different guys, myself included, who have an opportunity to get it. A lot can happen on race day.”
Some Canadian athletes will meet or exceed expectations. Others will fall short. But all 162 of them are going with the right qualifications, said Petitclerc.
“Everybody on that team is 100 per cent high performance. There were no free tickets to get there. For me, that is very important. I want to make sure the perception of the Paralympic team is the same as the Olympic team in terms of what it takes to be on that team. The requirement in training, dedication, nutrition and recovering is exactly the same.
“Everybody who will be there can be proud to be there. They can show up and say, ‘I deserve to be on a high performance team representing the best we have in Canada.’ ”