Canada celebrates 100 days to Tokyo Paralympic Games

OTTAWA – With 100 days to go until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) alongside its sport, media, and corporate partners, including primary broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada, are celebrating the countdown to the first day of the Games as well as the widespread broadcast and digital coverage that will allow Canadians from across the country to follow all the action from Tokyo. 

“The 100-day countdown is on and we look forward to soon announcing our sport teams set to compete in Tokyo and celebrating each and every athlete,” said Stephanie Dixon, chef de mission of the Tokyo 2020 Canadian Paralympic Team. “These Games will be powerful and momentous for our athletes who have all worked so hard in these challenging times to make it to this point, and their resiliency, courage, and determination will shine through in their performances.”

The Canadian Paralympic Media Consortium will be the official broadcaster for Tokyo 2020 for the fourth straight Paralympic Games. Led by the CPC, consortium partners include CBC/Radio-Canada, AMI, Sportsnet, Facebook, Twitter, and MXZN. The broadcast is made possible through support from corporate partners Toyota, Canadian Tire Corporation, Petro-Canada, and Bell.  

“We are thrilled that Canadians will get to live such inspiring moments with our Paralympic athletes through unprecedented coverage, including primetime broadcasts, thanks to our media consortium,” said Marc-André Fabien, president, Canadian Paralympic Committee. “As a valued partner, CBC/Radio-Canada has been instrumental in showcasing Paralympic values year-round to all Canadians.”

CBC/Radio-Canada, the home of the Paralympic Games in Canada, will be airing more than 120 original hours on TV. This will mark the most TV hours for a Paralympic Games in Canadian history. 

“CBC/Radio-Canada is proud to partner with the Canadian Paralympic Committee to bring the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games home to Canadians, across all of our platforms,” said Catherine Tait, president and CEO, CBC/Radio-Canada. “We can’t wait to support and celebrate our athletes as they go for gold.”

CBC’s coverage will be hosted by Scott Russell from CBC headquarters in Toronto, with three shows set to air per day. He will be joined throughout the Games by studio analyst Summer Mortimer (a four-time Paralympic medallist in Para swimming) as well as 21-time Paralympic medallist in wheelchair racing Chantal Petitclerc for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. CBC reporter Devin Heroux will be providing updates from Tokyo. 

Marie-José Turcotte will be the in-studio host from Montreal for Radio-Canada’s weekend Paralympic Games shows as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, with Jean St-Onge handling the hosting duties during the week from Tokyo. Benoit Huot (19-time Paralympic medallist in Para swimming) will be a special onsite analyst. 

CBC/Radio-Canada’s TV coverage will be presented in an accessible manner with closed captioning and described video. The live and on-demand streams of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will also include American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation.

Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), CPC’s accessibility media partner, will feature Paralympic Games content on AMI-tv in an accessible manner.  

Live streaming and on-demand coverage will also be available through Paralympic.ca, cbc.ca/tokyo2020 and Radio-Canada.ca/jeux-paralympiques, the CBC Tokyo 2020 app, the free CBC Gem streaming service, Twitter, and Facebook for a total of 21 disciplines from 19 sports including: Para athletics, Para badminton, boccia, Para cycling (road and track), football 5-a-side, goalball, Para judo, sitting volleyball, Para swimming, Para table tennis, Para triathlon, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair tennis, Para canoe, Para rowing, Para equestrian, Para archery, and shooting Para sport. Highlights will be available for Para powerlifting, Para taekwondo, and wheelchair fencing. CBC/Radio-Canada will offer an additional 600+ hours of live streaming coverage via its multiple platforms. 

Paralympic.ca will be the hub of all things Canadian Paralympic Team for the Games, including live streaming, live results, and all the latest news.  

“Shine”, the official song of the Tokyo 2020 Canadian Paralympic Team written by award-winning Canadian songwriter Paul DeRosa, which will be featured in the Games broadcast, is also now available for download on Spotify and iTunes. 

The complete schedule and further broadcast details will be released closer to the start of the Games. 

Aurelie Rivard, Tokyo 2020 Hopeful, Para Swimming – Three-time Paralympic gold medallist and Closing Ceremony Flag Bearer at Rio 2016: “After a challenging year of uncertainty, it’s nice to have something that brings hope to the Paralympic community. We’ve worked so hard to make it all the way here and I look forward to these last three months.” 

Brent Lakatos, Tokyo 2020 Hopeful, Para Athletics – Seven-time Paralympic medallist: “This year has been the most difficult year of my career, as I am sure it has been for many athletes. My preparation has been hugely impacted by lockdowns and losing access to training facilities. But as the difficulties have increased so has my determination to do everything I can to be ready. These will be a Games unlike any before, and I intend to be in the best shape of my life.”

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will run from August 24 to September 5, 2021. Canada is expecting to send a team of approximately 130 athletes, with team announcements for each sport set to take place throughout the next few months.