Arinn Young

Arinn Young was one of Canada’s big stars in its golden performance at the 2019 Parapan American Games. She was the tournament leader in points scored (122) and points per game (24.4) as Canada qualified for the Tokyo Paralympics.

She competed at her second Paralympics at Tokyo 2020 and at her third world championships in 2023. Canada was fifth at both competitions.

She helped Canada to fifth-place finishes at the 2018 world championships (averaging 20.1 points a game) and 2016 Paralympic Games. The Canadian women qualified for Rio with a silver at the Parapan Am Games in 2015. 

When knee injuries prevented her from playing stand-up basketball in 2011, family friend and wheelchair basketball coach Max MacMillan pushed Young to give wheelchair basketball a try. 

A strong player in stand-up ball, where she won over 15 MVP awards and two city championships, Young immediately fell in love with the wheelchair sport, describing it as more positive than the stand-up game. At home under the basket, she helped lead her club team, the Edmonton Inferno, to a Canadian women’s championship in 2013. 

First named as a full-time player to the senior national team in 2014, Young says the opportunity to wear the Team Canada jersey means the world to her.