Para sport Notebook: Early season sizzle from Canada’s summer Para athletes

OTTAWA – – While Canada’s Para nordic and Para alpine skiers were producing medals at their respective world championships last week, our summer Para athletes delivered some early season promise.

A long 2025 Para athletics season is officially under way and Team Canada didn’t waste any time making its mark with two medals at the World Para Athletics (WPA) Grand Prix stop in Dubai.

Paralympic Games silver medallist Jesse Zesseu of Toronto took the gold in the men’s T37 discus with a 49.36 metres toss.

Carleigh Hiltz of Truro, N.S. added silver in the women’s F37 shot put with a throw of 9.11 metres — just six centimetres short of the gold medal throw.

The competitors are working towards the world championships set for September 27 to October 5 in New Delhi.

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Carla Nicholls receives award for dedicated coaching

In more Para athletics news, Carla Nicholls, the head of Athletics Canada’s Paralympic program, is a recipient of the 2024 Coach Dedication Award.

The honour was presented at the 40th annual Saskatchewan Sport Awards ceremony in Saskatoon on Jan. 31.

During her past 30 years of dedicated service as a coach, Nicholls has made significant contributions to athletics in support of competitors, as well as other coaches.

“Para athletics represents everything I believe in when it comes to sport–creating opportunities, challenging limits, and making sure everyone has the chance to reach their potential,” Nicholls told Grasslands News.

“Growing up in a small-town Saskatchewan community, I saw firsthand the impact of having access to sport and supportive people who believe in you. Not everyone has that, especially in Para sport, where barriers like access to equipment, coaching, and proper support systems can limit opportunities.”

Cosgriffe breaks two short course world records at OUAA Swimming Championships

Nineteen-year-old Katie Cosgriffe of Oakville, Ont. broke two short course world records at the Ontario University Swimming Championships in Markham.

In the 100 back, Cosgriffe clocked 1:05.50, which broke the previous mark of 1:06.60 set by Lisa Kruger of the Netherlands in 2023.

In the 200 fly, Cosgriffe swam 2:32.92, resetting an 11-year-old mark held by Eleni Papadopoulos of Great Britian.

Last summer, Cosgriffe won Paralympic bronze in the women’s 100 butterfly S10.

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Allen named Swimming Canada’s National Coach Lead

In more Para swimming news, Ryan Allen will join Swimming Canada as the Paralympic program’s National Coach Lead, beginning February 24.

Allen, the head coach of Club de Natation Bleu et Or in Moncton, N.B., has been a member of multiple national team staffs, including the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, where he guided Danielle Dorris to a world record and back-to-back gold medals.

He also served as head coach for Canada at the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games.

“I view it as an opportunity for my own growth while bringing something that I think is of value to the program,” Allen said. “Having had the chance to be part of the program for the past seven years, I’ve seen the growth of our high performance department in Swimming Canada.”

Canada third at Osaka Cup women’s wheelchair basketball tournament

Canada’s nine-member NextGen women’s wheelchair basketball team won two of its four games at the Osaka Cup tournament which concluded Saturday in the Japanese metropolis.

Team Canada included 2024 Paralympians Bethany Johnson of Winnipeg and Puisand Lai of Toronto.

Both victories were against Thailand. In the opener the Canadians squeaked out at 53-48 win and in the closer for third spot, it was more decisive at 52-32.

Australia defeated Japan in the final for top spot.

Marni Abbott of Vancouver was the team’s coach with Dylan Carter of Toronto and Tara Llanes of North Vancouver as assistant coaches.

Llanes is a two-time Paralympian and was a member of Canada’s fourth place squad in Paris.