Three inductees into Wheelchair Basketball Canada Hall of Fame

OTTAWA – Five-time Paralympian Joey Johnson of Winnipeg, coach Paul Bowes of Woodstock, Ont., and international classifier Anne Lachance of Longueuil, Que. will be inducted into Wheelchair Basketball Canada’s Hall of Fame this weekend at the CWBL Championships in Montreal.

Johnson spent nearly two decades as a staple on Team Canada. Over the course of his career, he competed in five Paralympic Games, capturing gold medals in 2000, 2004, and 2012, along with a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.

He also struck gold at the 2006 World Championships and the 1997 Junior World Championship.

Johnson, diagnosed with a degenerative hip condition at just eight years old, faced an uncertain future in sport—until he discovered the world of adaptive sport.

“I have had a long career. I’ve been involved with wheelchair basketball for 42 years – it has been a long journey and a long time,” said Johnson, also the first wheelchair basketball athlete ever inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023. “Some of the best memories of my life are associated with this game.”

“It’s always humbling. I don’t think anyone starts their career and has goals set for stuff such as being inducted into the Hall of Fames. To be recognized by the peer group that you’ve grown up with and played alongside and for future generations to get a chance to remember your name is pretty cool.”

The 49-year-old currently serves as the executive director of the Manitoba Wheelchair Sports Association and coaches the provincial junior wheelchair basketball team. Internationally, he is a coach with Great Britain’s men’s national team.

Bowes honored for successful coaching career

Paul Bowes first joined Wheelchair Basketball Canada in 1993 as an assistant coach with the Senior Men’s National Team – a role he served in until 2005, helping Canada win gold at the 2000 and 2004 Paralympic Games.

He was appointed head coach of the Senior Men’s National Team in 2005 and, just a year later, led Team Canada to its first—and only—gold medal at the 2006 World Championships.

In 2015, Bowes was named the head coach of the Ontario Women’s provincial program, where he oversaw the training and development of the province’s Senior Women’s Team. He received WBC’s True Sport Award for his work with the program in 2017.

“For me, it’s always about giving back to the sport, which has given me so much,” Bowes said. “I have taken so much from this. I can’t thank WBC enough for all the opportunities that I’ve been given throughout the years.

“To be the recipient of a Wheelchair Basketball Canada Hall of Fame induction with so many other great people it’s truly an honour for me, one that I certainly didn’t expect.”

Lachance builds amazing career as an international classifier

Anne Lachance has extensive experience internationally as a classifier and has worked tirelessly throughout her career to develop the classification system in Canada and around the world.

According to her LinkedIn page, she has been an international classifier with the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation since 2002 and a classification director with Wheelchair Basketball Canada since 1998.

“I like every part of the job. It’s a little odd, I’m passionate about classification,” Lachance said. “I like everything about it. Teaching is part of it, but I like making material to teach. That’s my main involvement with IWBF.

“Wheelchair Basketball Canada has given me so many good opportunities. Wendy Gittens is one of the people that helped my career the most.”

Off the court, the McGill University graduate is an occupational therapist at Montreal Children’s Hospital.

The Hall of Fame and awards banquet will be held on Saturday evening. The awards include Female and Male Athletes of the Year, Junior Athlete of the Year, the True Sport Award, and the Leadership and Excellence Award. The night will conclude with the Hall of Fame inductions.

The Hall of Fame inductees were revealed by WBC last month.

For more information: Wheelchair Baksetball Canada

With files from Wheelchair Basketball Canada