Para sport update: Canadian women open sitting volleyball worlds with big win

Parapan Pacs team named, St-Pierre in Para canoe World Cup final

Photo courtesy of World ParaVolley

HANGZHOU, China – Heidi Peters scored 25 points Friday to lead Canada to a dominant 25-9, 25-11, 25-8 victory over Hungary in women’s competition at the sitting volleyball world championships.

Allison Lang of Edmonton added nine points while Kerrie Buchberger of Langenburg, Sask., and Julia Chisholm of Victoria added seven apiece as the Canadians handcuffed their opponents with their service game. Peters and Lang were members of Canada’s bronze medal winning squad at the 2024 Paralympics.

Canada, ranked second in the world, can expect a tougher match Saturday against fifth ranked Slovenia. However, Japan upset the Slovenians Friday 18-25, 25-20, 26-24, 28-26.

On the men’s side, the eight-ranked Canadians lost to number seven Germany 25-13, 27-25, 25-21.

Doug Learoyd of Calgary led the Canadian attack with 16 points including six on blocks while Dariusz Symonowicz of Toronto and Bryce Foster of Thunder Bay, Ont., added nine points each.

The Canadian face Thailand Saturday which lost 25-10, 25-20, 25-15 to China on Friday.

The full match schedule is here: https://tournaments.worldparavolley.cn/wc2026/competition/schedule

Follow the results here: https://tournaments.worldparavolley.cn/wc2026/competition/results

Canadian Para swimming team named for Para Pan Pacs

Multiple Paralympic champion Aurélie Rivard of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., and rising star Reid Maxwell of Edmonton are among the 20 Para swimmers named to the Canadian team for the Para Pan Pacific Championships, August 28-30, in Walnut, California.

The selections were made following the last day of the Bell Swimming Trials on Thursday.

Also named on the women’s side are Paralympians Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., Katie Cosgriffe of Burlington, Ont., Danielle Dorris of Moncton, N.B., Arianna Hunsicker of Edmonton, Mary Jibb of Muskoka, Ont., Abi Tripp of Kingston, Ont., and Shelby Newkirk of Saskatoon. Also named are Tianna Asala of Okotoks, Alta., and Ali Diehl of Saskatoon.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Canada's Olympic Network (@cbcolympics)

Joining Maxwell from the 2024 Paralympic Games team on the men’s side are Nicholas Bennett of Parksville, B.C., Alec Elliott of Kitchener, Ont., James Leroux of Repentigny, Que., Fernando Lu of Burnaby, B.C., Sebastian Massabie of Surrey, B.C., and Nicolas-Guy Turbide of Quebec City.

Also named are Jagdev Gill of Montreal, Hunter Helberg of Fort McMurray, Alta., and Ken Stroud of Richmond, B.C.

“Our Para swimming program continues to set the standard internationally, and this team reflects the remarkable depth of talent we have across Canada,” said Jocelyn Jay, associate director, high performance, Paralympic Program, Swimming Canada. ‘’The Para Pan Pacific Championships will be another valuable opportunity to measure ourselves against the world’s best while continuing our preparation for the seasons ahead.”

Mathieu St-Pierre advances to final at Para canoe World Cup in Montreal

On Friday morning, Mathieu St-Pierre of Shawinigan, Que., was the first Canadian to advance to a final at the Para canoe World Cup event in Montreal.

St-Pierre, a two-time Paralympian, was fifth in his opening heat Thursday morning then ranked third in his semifinal heat today.

Also advancing to semifinals on Thursday were Oliver Sinclair of Halifax and Gabriel Ferron-Bouius of Ottawa in the men’s KL3.

Other Canadians in action this week are: Paralympic Games silver medallist Brianna Hennessy of Ottawa, her Paris 2024 teammate Erica Scarff of Mississauga, Ont., and Ben Brown of Weston, N.S.

Full schedule is HERE.

All the action streams live on CBC.ca

CAN Crew Newsletter

Receive the latest Canadian Paralympic Team news, athlete stories, and behind-the-scenes access directly to your inbox.