Double gold for Ciobanu as Canada earns seven medals at World Challenger

SANTIAGO – Iulian Ciobanu earned gold in BC4 men’s individual then combined forces with Alison Levine for victory in the mixed BC4 pairs as Canada concluded the Santiago World Boccia Challenger which ended Monday with seven medals.

In men’s individual, Ciobanu went 3-0 in the straight round robin tournament for first place. Jean-Paul Lafontaine of Australia took silver at 2-1 and Cesar Quispe of Peru was third at 1-2.

Levine took silver in the BC4 category compiling a 3-1 record in the round robin tournament.

Together, she and Ciobanu made a strong statement in the pairs competition, with a 6-1 win over Chile and an 11-2 win over Peru to secure the gold.

“It’s a great start to 2025 and I’m hoping it will set the tone for the rest of the competitions this year,” said Ciobanu.

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Levine and Ciobanu, both from Montreal, have shared this boccia journey through three Paralympic Games—Rio, Tokyo, and Paris—and are now looking ahead to Los Angeles 2028.

In the BC3 Individual category, Alex Lemaire (Kinsey Falls, QC) celebrated a breakthrough by earning his first-ever international silver medal. Lemaire advanced to the finals after finishing in the top two in his pool and defeating Argentina’s Rodrigo Romero 4-2 in the semifinals. He faced Brazil’s Mateus Carvalho in the gold medal match. While the final score of 7-0 favoured the Brazilian, Lemaire remained upbeat.

“I’m happy to have participated in my first grand finale in the gold medal game against the sixth best player in the world right now, Mateus Carvalho,” said Lemaire. “I’m learning a lot at these competitions and this gold medal match was no exception!”

Lemaire was accompanied by his BC3 performance partner and father, Francis Lemaire, whose unwavering dedication and support have been instrumental in his son’s boccia career.

The strong finish in Santiago follows Canada’s promising start to the season, after three youth athletes brought home four medals from the World Boccia Youth Championships in Curitiba, Brazil last month. With an exciting and competitive year ahead, the team is already gaining momentum on the road to Los Angeles 2028.

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TOTAL MEDALS EARNED IN SANTIAGO
BC1
Male
Lance Cryderman (Val Caron, Ont.) – Silver (Individual) & Bronze (Team)

BC2
Female
Liza Puri (London, Ont.) – Bronze (Team)
Male
Danik Allard (Bois-des-Filion, Que.) – Bronze (Individual & Team)

BC3
Male
Alex Lemaire (Kinsey Falls, Que.) – Silver (Individual)

BC4
Female
Alison Levine (Montreal) – Silver (Individual) & Gold (Pairs)
Male
Iulian Ciobanu (Montreal) – Gold (Individual & Pairs)