In late July, Athletics Canada named 20 Canadian para athletes to the Paralympic athletics crew–a roster that features 5 returning Paralympic medallists. Now, the 2024 Paralympic Video games are simply someday away, starting on Wednesday, Aug. 28 in Paris, with athletics occasions starting on Friday, Aug. 30. Fairly just a few athletes have plans to take house extra than simply reminiscences–check out Canada’s medal favourites.
Nate Riech (T38 1,500m)
The reigning Paralympic champion and two-time world champion within the males’s T38 1,500m, Nate Riech, is returning to the world stage to defend his title. The ASICS athlete holds a private greatest and T38 world report of three:47.49, whereas his time of three:58.92 ran at Tokyo 2020 bested the previous Paralympic report.
Elite athletics runs within the Victoria native’s blood–his mom, Ardin Tucker, was a Canadian champion within the pole vault, and his father, Todd Riech, competed for Workforce USA within the javelin throw on the 1996 Olympic Video games. (Riech can also be the duvet mannequin for the September/October 2024 print challenge of Canadian Working, on newsstands now.)
Athletics Canada nominates 20 athletes for 2024 Paralympic Video games
Bianca Borgella (T13 100m)
After solely beginning to compete in 2021, Bianca Borgella of Ottawa will probably be making her Paralympic debut in Paris, with very huge targets, after taking house silver within the T13 200m and bronze within the 100m on the 2023 World Para Athletics championships. This 21-year-old is the most recent rising star in Canadian para athletics.
Noah Vucsics (T20 lengthy bounce)
One other breakout performer is Calgary’s Noah Vucsics, who earned a silver medal within the males’s T20 lengthy bounce with a 7.35m leap and a Canadian report on the 2023 world championships in Paris. He earned bronze within the occasion on the Parapan American Video games just a few weeks later. The 24-year-old can have eyes on the gold as he makes his Paralympic debut.
Marissa Papaconstantinou (T64 100m, 200m)
Toronto’s Marissa Papaconstantinou will probably be seeking to improve her Paralympic bronze medal as she makes an look at her third Paralympic Video games. The sprinter gained bronze within the ladies’s T64 100 metres in Tokyo and in each the 100m and 200m on the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships final 12 months.
Brent Lakatos (T53 400m, 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m)
Paris 2024 will mark 11-time Paralympic medallist Brent Lakatos’s sixth Paralympic Video games. The wheelchair racer from Dorval, Que., is in search of redemption after falling wanting his targets at Tokyo 2020, the place he was runner-up is every of his 4 occasions. Extra not too long ago, Lakatos gained gold within the 800m and silver within the 1,500m and 400m on the 2023 World Championships in Paris.
The 2024 Paralympic Video games start on August 28 and are available to an in depth on September 8. Reside occasions may be streamed on CBC Gem, and outcomes may be discovered right here.
