Lima 2019: Canadian Parapan Am Team on Day 1 and looking ahead at Day 2

LIMA – Action is officially underway at the Lima 2019 Parapan Am Games, as athletes from the 33 participating nations paraded into Lima’s Estadio Nacional for the Opening Ceremony, with Canada led by flag bearer Stephanie Chan. The Canadian Parapan Am Team also competed in wheelchair rugby and Para table tennis earlier in the day, and is prepping for a full slate of activity on Saturday. 

TOP HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY 
Canada opened with a dominant win in wheelchair rugby on Friday, posting a 60-24 victory over Argentina. All 12 players saw time on the court to contribute to the triumph, with Benjamin Perkins leading the scoring with 11 tries. The team will be back on court on Saturday with two matches as round-robin play continues – first up against Brazil at 10 a.m. local time / 11 a.m. ET followed by Colombia at 5 p.m. local time / 6 p.m. ET. 

“Argentina has come a long way since the last time I saw them four years ago. It was a good competition to see how we’ll match up for the rest of the tournament. There are a couple other teams – Colombia and Brazil are top 12-ish worldwide and they’re making a push, so it’ll be a good game against them too. Four years ago we beat the Americans at the Toronto Parapan Ams to seal our ticket, so hopefully we’ll be able to do that again and that avoids having to go through a secondary qualification closer to Tokyo.”
– Zak Madell 

Day two of Para table tennis continued, with Ian Kent posting his third win of the Games to sew up the top position in his Class 8 round-robin group and move into the quarterfinals. Peter Isherwood also secured a spot in the elimination rounds following a victory on Friday to finish second in his group. He becomes the first Canadian wheelchair athlete in the sport to advance out of the round robin at a multi-sport Games. Saturday’s action will ultimately see medals handed out in singles play, with Kent, Isherwood, and Stephanie Chan still in the mix for hardware. 

“I double-medaled at the last three [Parapan American Games] and that means nothing. What matters is what happens here. And you have to live in the moment here. The past is history and so I look forward to making my mark at these Games one match at a time.”
– Ian Kent 

“It’s the first time a wheelchair athlete from Canada has advanced out of the round robin. I’m very excited. It’s also my first time at a multi-sport Games so it’s a big move for table tennis in Canada, as well as a personal goal for me to move forward, so I’m excited to take what I learned from my last two matches and move forward.”
– Peter Isherwood

For the complete Canadian Parapan Am Team results on August 23, please CLICK HERE. 
 

LOOKING AHEAD AT DAY 2 ACTION
In addition to wheelchair rugby and Para table tennis, five more sports will be on the schedule Saturday as the Games gets underway in full force. 

•    Canada will be busy on the sitting volleyball court with the men playing two games, against Colombia and Peru, followed by the women versus Brazil. The men kick off the day at 8 a.m. local time / 9 a.m. ET and start again seven hours later. The women begin their Lima 2019 campaigns at 5 p.m. local time / 6 p.m. ET.  

•    The team’s two Para judo athletes, Priscilla Gagné and Justin Karn, will be going for gold. Both prior Parapan Am Games medallists, Gagné (women’s 52kg) and Karn (men’s 60kg) will compete in the preliminaries in the morning with medal rounds taking place in the afternoon. 

•    Para athletics competition kicks off at 3 p.m. local time / 4 p.m. ET. Many Canadians are on the docket Saturday with potential for medals, including Nathan Riech going for gold in the 1500m, in which he is the T38 world-record holder. He will be joined in the race by teammates Liam Stanley and Mitchell Chase. In the T13 5000m, Guillaume Ouellet holds the fastest time in the world this year and he will be racing for the podium as well. Others in action include: David Bambrick, Michael Barber, Thomas Normandeau, Ljiljana Ljubisic, Amy Watt, and Martha Sandoval Gustafson. 

•    Men’s wheelchair tennis players Thomas Venos and Jonathan Tremblay will compete in their first-round singles matches on the clay courts of Lima. Both competing in their first multi-sport Games, Venos will face off against Mexico’s Raul Ortega, while Tremblay takes on Peruvian Jesus Mayhua. 

•    Canada’s women’s basketball team starts its campaign against Colombia in the noon hour. Led by co-captains Cindy Ouellet and Arinn Young, the team needs a Top 2 finish in order to qualify for next year’s Paralympic Games. 

HOW TO WATCH
Five sports are available to live stream via the CPC Facebook page, CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, as well as the Radio-Canada Sports app and radio-canada.ca/sports.

Live Stream Schedule for Saturday August 24:
11 a.m. ET – Canada vs. Brazil, Wheelchair Rugby, Round Robin 
1:30 p.m. ET – Canada vs. Colombia, Wheelchair Basketball, Round Robin (WOMEN)
4 p.m. ET – Para athletics Day 1 competition 
6 p.m. ET – Canada vs. Colombia, Wheelchair Rugby, Round Robin