Who to watch for in Para events at 2025 Canadian Track and Field Championships presented by Bell

OTTAWA – Most of Canada’s biggest names in Para athletics are scheduled to compete at the 2025 Canadian Track and Field Championships presented by Bell which starts today and runs until Sunday at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility in Ottawa.

At the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, Para athletics competitors won almost a third of the Canadian team medals with nine podiums including half the gold with five as well as three silver and one bronze.

Here are five Para athletes to watch for in Ottawa:

Cody Fournie, Rimber, Alta.: a nationally ranked wheelchair rugby player, Fournie switched to wheelchair racing in the previous quadrennial and raced to double gold at the 2024 Paralmypics with victories in the T51 100m and 200m. Both times were Canadian records and his 100 time was also a Games and Americas record.

Austin Smeenk, Oakville, Ont. : third Games was a charm for Smeenk in Paris. He registered a spectacular win in the men’s T34 800m wheelchair race and added a bronze in the 100 for his first career Paralympic medals.

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Greg Stewart, Kamloops, B.C.: Stewart successfully defended his men’s F46 shotput Paralympic Games title in Paris. The 7’2’’ lower arm amputee is also a strong Para sport advocate and last year co-authored a youth book called “Stand Out”.

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Nate Tucker, Victoria: Tucker has been a force on Canada’s Para athletic team since he first burst on the stage in 2018 with world record performances in the T38 800m and 1500m. He took gold in Tokyo in the 1500 and was edged at the finish for silver in Paris. He comes from a great sports family that includes his grandfather Jim Harrison, an NHLer with the Maple Leafs, Blackhawks and Bruins.

Marissa Papaconstantinou, Toronto: The 25-year-old blade runner is already a three-time Paralympian which includes a bronze in the women’s T64 100m at the Tokyo 2020. She is also a graduate in Sports Media from Toronto Metropolitan University and is always keen to tell the stories of the Para sports world.

Other Paralympians on the start list in Ottawa include for the men: racers Anthony Bouchard of Quebec City, Zach Gingras of Markham, Ont., and Guillaume Ouellet of Victoriaville, Que., as well as long jumper Noah Vucsics of Calgary and thrower Jesse Zesseu of Toronto.

For the women: Paralympians include runners Amanda Rummery of Edmonton and Sheriauna Haase of Toronto and throwers Julia Hanes of Windsor, Ont., Renee Foessel of Orangeville, Ont., Charlotte Bolton of Tillsonburg, Ont., and Katie Pegg of Markham.

Para events are scheduled for each session of the competition. Here is the full schedule.

The Canadian Track & Field Championships will be broadcasted live from Ottawa Wednesday, July 30th through Sunday, August 3rd on AthleticsCanada.tv.

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