- Roster includes four Paralympic medallists
- Paris
2024 Paralympic Games takes place August 28 to September 8
OTTAWA,
ON, July 29, 2024 /CNW/ - A team of seven Para
cyclists will race for Canada at
the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games,
the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Cycling Canada announced
Monday.
Paris 2024 Canadian
Paralympic Team – PARA CYCLING
- Nathan Clement – West Vancouver, BC – MT1 (classification)
- Alexandre Hayward –
Quispamsis, NB – MC3
- Charles Moreau –
Victoriaville, QC – MH3
- Kate O'Brien – Calgary, AB – WC4
- Mel Pemble – Victoria, BC – WC3
- Mike Sametz – Calgary, AB – MC3
- Keely Shaw – Midale, SK – WC4
The team includes four Paralympic medallists: Charles Moreau (two bronze at Rio 2016),
Kate O'Brien (silver at Tokyo 2020), Keely
Shaw (bronze at Tokyo
2020), and Mike Sametz (bronze at
Rio 2016).
Moreau is the most experienced of the team, with two Games
appearances (2016, 2020). O'Brien, Shaw, and Sametz will
participate in their second Paralympic Games (O'Brien has also
represented Canada in cycling at
the Olympic Games, in 2016). For Sametz, it is a return to
Paralympic competition after injury and illness kept him out of the
sport for the Tokyo Games.
Nathan Clement and Mel Pemble will be making their Paralympic
debuts in Para cycling but are already Paralympians in other sports
– Clement in Para swimming (2016) and Pemble in Para alpine skiing
(2018). Alexandre Hayward will
become a first-time Paralympian in Paris.
"I can't describe how it feels being selected for the team for
Paris 2024," said Pemble. "It
truly feels unreal when I think back on four years ago; restarting
this sport and being unsure on where it would lead. Though I've
been lucky enough to have a Winter Games experience, in a way, this
still feels as if it's my first Games with a different kind of
excitement of what is to come and what is possible to achieve
in Paris."
At the 2023 world championships in Scotland, these athletes won nine medals,
including two gold – Clement in the men's T1 road time trial and
Pemble in the women's C3 omnium on the track (which is not a
Paralympic event). O'Brien, Shaw, Clement, and Sametz also secured
podium finishes.
"Being selected for the Paris Paralympic Games is an honour
beyond words," said Clement. "Wearing the maple leaf at my second
Games is incredibly humbling. I'm thrilled for this chance to give
it for my community and country. Without my team in Vancouver and the support of the city, this
dream would not be possible. Thank you to everyone. I can't wait to
hear that starting siren and see my teammates achieve their goals
and race on the biggest stage alongside them!"
Last fall at the 2023 Parapan Am Games in Santiago, Canadian Para cyclists won 12 medals
with Hayward leading the way with four (two gold, one silver, one
bronze). Pemble added a gold and silver, Clement notched a gold and
bronze, and Shaw won silver. Sametz took home two bronze and Moreau
contributed his own bronze medal performance.
"Since being introduced to Para sport as a competitive
15-year-old who'd just had his life turned upside down by a hockey
injury, the goal of one day representing Canada at the Paralympics immediately played a
huge role in my life," said Hayward. "The feeling of
fulfilling that dream 12 years later is hard to put into words
and to be heading there with the realistic goal of
returning with a medal is a huge cherry on top."
Qualification slots for Canada
for the Games were earned through cumulated results at world
championships and World Cup events in 2023 and 2024.
Hayward, O'Brien, Pemble, and Shaw will race in the track
events, taking place August 29 to September
1 at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome just
outside of Paris.
The road events will take place September
4-7, starting and finishing in Clichy-Sous-Bois, with
Clement, Hayward, Moreau, Pemble, Sametz, and Shaw set to
compete.
"I am so pleased to welcome to the team the seven Para cyclists
nominated for Paris," said
Karolina Wisniewska, co-chef de
mission, Paris 2024 Canadian
Paralympic Team. "Canada's Para
cycling team was so successful at the Parapan Am Games last year,
and it was a thrill to watch them race. I can't wait to do it again
in Paris next month!"
"Congratulations to each Para cyclist selected to compete for
Canada at the Paralympic Games,"
said Josh Vander Vies, co-chef de mission, Paris 2024 Canadian Paralympic Team. "This is
such an exciting and accomplished group of racers, with strong
recent Paralympic Games, world championships, and Parapan Am
results. I know they are ready to do their best in Paris, and I'm looking forward to supporting
them at the Games."
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
will take place August 28 to September
8 in Paris, France.
Canada is expecting to send a team
of approximately 130 athletes.
Prior to being officially named to the Canadian Paralympic
Team, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian
Paralympic Committee. The current list of nominated athletes can be
found HERE. The approved final roster will be announced closer to
the start of the Games.
About the Canadian Paralympic Committee:
Paralympic.ca
About Cycling Canada: CyclingCanada.ca
SOURCE Canadian Paralympic Committee (Sponsorships)