Paris 2024 Day 8 Preview: Sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball semifinals coming up for Canada

– Alison Levine and Iulian Ciobanu to play for boccia bronze medal
– Para judoka Priscilla Gagne ready for competition

Paris, September 4, 2024 – With four days remaining in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, competition is heating up for the Canadian Paralympic Team. Two teams will play in semifinals, Canada will challenge for bronze in boccia, Priscilla Gagne will take centre stage in Para judo, and action continues in Para swimming, Para athletics, and Para cycling. Below is what’s on the schedule for Day 8, Thursday September 5:

Boccia
Alison Levine and Iulian Ciobanu will take on Thailand for the BC4 pairs bronze medal at 12:20 p.m. CEST / 6:20 p.m. ET. Both are looking for their first Paralympic medal in their third Games.

Wheelchair Basketball
Canada’s men’s team will be taking the court for its semifinal match-up against the USA with a spot in the gold-medal game on the line. The Americans are the defending Paralympic champions, while Canada has already secured an improved result from Tokyo 2020 where the team was eighth. Tip off is 9:30 p.m. CEST / 3:30 p.m. ET.

Sitting Volleyball
The Canadian women’s sitting volleyball team will take on China in the semifinals at 8 p.m. CEST / 2 p.m. ET. The squad, fourth in Tokyo three years ago, is aiming to advance into the gold-medal game for the first time. China, silver medallists at the last Games, was 3-0 in their group during pool play while Canada finished 2-1 to move into the final four.

Para Judo
Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Priscilla Gagne is set for her spotlight in Paris. The Para judoka has received a bye into the women’s 57 kg J1 category quarterfinals and is scheduled seventh on mat two for her first bout. Play starts at 10 a.m. CEST / 4 a.m. ET. The day’s schedule will run all the way to the medal rounds.

Para Cycling Road
Charles Moreau will be the lone Canadian cycling the roads of Paris on Thursday. Seventh in the time trial Wednesday, he is set for the men’s H3 road race starting at 4:05 p.m. CEST / 10:05 a.m. ET.

Para Athletics
Five Canadians will be suiting up in Para athletics competition, including two in finals.

Julia Hanes, who competed in the javelin earlier in the Games, is now set for the women’s F33 shot put final at 7:31 p.m. CEST / 1:31 p.m. ET while Brent Lakatos will race in the men’s T53 800m final at 7:58 p.m. CEST / 1:58 p.m. ET. Lakatos already has a silver medal in the 400m in Paris.

Three more track athletes will be competing in heats later in the evening: Marissa Papaconstantinou in the women’s T64 100m, Keegan Gaunt in the women’s T13 400m, and Anthony Bouchard in the men’s T52 100m.

Para Swimming
Para swimming action continues at La Defense Arena, with Paris 2024 medallists Tess Routliffe, Aurelie Rivard, and Reid Maxwell returning to the pool for more races.

Routliffe, a silver medallist in the individual medley earlier in the week, will now compete in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB7 heats at 9:30 a.m. CEST / 3:30 a.m. ET. Joining her will be Abi Tripp.

They will be followed by Rivard in the women’s 400m freestyle S10 heats. Rivard has a silver and bronze in Paris so far, bringing her career total to 12 Paralympic podiums.

Canada’s co-Opening Ceremony flag bearer Katarina Roxon, as well as Mary Jibb, will race in the women’s 200m individual medley SM9 heats, with the Canadians closing out the morning with the mixed 4x50m medley relay at 11:22 a.m. CEST / 5:22 a.m. ET. On deck will be Nikita Ens, Shelby Newkirk, Sebastian Massabie, and Reid Maxwell.

Evening finals start at 5:30 p.m. CEST / 11:30 a.m. ET.

The complete schedule for September 5 can be found on the Paris 2024 website HERE.

HOW TO WATCH
Audiences can tune in for CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage of Paris 2024 in English on CBC, CBC Gem, CBC’s Paris 2024 website (cbc.ca/paris2024) and the CBC Paris 2024 app for Android and iOS devices, and in French on ICI TÉLÉ, ICI TOU.TV, Radio-Canada’s Paris 2024 website (Radio-Canada.ca/jeux-paralympiques), and the Radio-Canada Paralympiques app for Android and iOS devices.