151 athletes named to Canadian Parapan Am Team for Lima 2019 Parapan American Games

OTTAWA – A total of 151 athletes, including sport assistants, pilots, and guides, will form the Lima 2019 Canadian Parapan Am Team, as the Canadian Paralympic Committee announced today the official list of athletes selected to represent Canada at the Parapan American Games from August 23 to September 1 in Lima, Peru. 

With just over three weeks to go until the start of the Games, the athletes are completing their final preparations before travelling to Lima. Canada will be competing in 13 sports at the Games: Boccia (11 athletes), goalball (12), Para athletics (26), Para badminton (7), Para cycling (11), Para judo (2), Para swimming (13), Para table tennis (5), Para taekwondo (1), sitting volleyball (23), wheelchair basketball (24), wheelchair rugby (12), and wheelchair tennis (4). 

Para badminton and Para taekwondo are making their Parapan Am debuts in Lima, one year before they enter the Paralympic program for the first time.    

CLICK HERE for the complete Canadian Parapan Am Team list.   

With the Canadian Parapan Am Team aiming for a Top 3 finish in the overall medal count, Lima 2019 is an important stepping stone for next year’s Paralympic Games. The calibre of competition will be high, with many sports looking for top results in order to qualify for Tokyo 2020. 

The team will be led in Lima by chef de mission Stephanie Dixon, one of Canada’s most decorated Paralympians with 19 medals won through three Paralympic Games (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and Beijing 2008) in swimming. 

“This is a fantastic group of dedicated individuals who I know will wear the maple leaf with pride, passion, and integrity,” said Dixon. “They have all earned their places on the team, and I know are working hard to be ready for the Games and put forth their absolute best performances. 

“These Games are such an important event for many athletes to gain multi-sport experience and qualification opportunities on the pathway to Tokyo 2020 and beyond. I cannot wait to touch down in Lima and be able to support everyone in person, and I hope all of Canada will get loud and proud and make sure these athletes know the nation is behind them!”

About the Lima 2019 Canadian Parapan Am Team: 

• Lima 2019 will be the first multi-sport Games appearance for a total of 73 athletes on the team, including the entire swimming team, while 81 members will be competing at a Parapan Am Games for the first time. 
• 60 athletes are entering the Games with Parapan Am medals already in their trophy case. 
• A total of 60 athletes on the team have Paralympic Games experience, with wheelchair basketball boasting the largest number of Paralympians with 14. 
• 20 athletes have won Paralympic medals throughout their careers.
• The team is comprised of 92 male and 59 female athletes. 
• The oldest athlete on the team is Para athletics competitor Martha Sandoval Gustafson, age 69. She was born January 8, 1950 and will participate in javelin in Lima. She won seven medals for Canada (six in athletics and one in swimming) at the 1984 Paralympic Games. 
• The youngest athlete on the team is 14-year-old Para swimmer Colleen Cloetta, born May 11, 2005. 
• Wheelchair basketball player David Eng will be competing in his fifth Parapan Am Games following 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015. 
• Para athletics is bringing the largest contingent with 26 athletes (including one guide) set to compete for medals, while Para taekwondo has just one athlete (Anthony Cappello). 
• Per athlete preferred home provinces, a total of 36 athletes hail from the province of Ontario, the most on the team. This is followed by Quebec (34), then British Columbia and Alberta both with 30. Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia each have six athletes, while Manitoba has four, New Brunswick four, and Prince Edward Island one. 
• The roster includes three Para cycling pilots: Evelyne Gagnon (for Annie Bouchard), Meghan Lemiski (for Carla Shibley), and Andrew Davidson (for Lowell Taylor), one Para athletics guide: Adam Paul-Morris (for David Johnson), and four sport assistants in boccia: Hussein Mawji (for Hanif Mawji), Francine Hebert (for Eric Bussière), Gaetan Lord (for Philippe Lord), and Josee Duquette (for Marylou Martineau).  

The Canadian Paralympic Committee, alongside Canada’s Paralympic Network CBC/Radio-Canada, will be providing live coverage of the Games as an expanded part of the Paralympic Super Series package of Para competitions. Livestreams will be available for five sports: Para athletics, Para badminton, Para swimming, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby, with additional video highlights to be added when available. Full details will be announced closer to the start of the Games. 

The Lima 2019 Parapan American Games will take place August 23 to September 1, 2019. It will be the largest Parapan Am Games ever, surpassing Toronto 2015, with approximately 1,850 athletes from the Americas region set to compete.