Canadian wheelchair basketball teams named for Paris 2024 Paralympics
20 of the 24 athletes have competed at the Paralympics before.
Twenty-four athletes were named to Team Canada for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Monday, to the men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams.
The Canadian women qualified for the Paralympics with a dominant win over Algeria at the Women’s IWBF Repechage Tournament in Osaka, Japan in April. The team finished fifth at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, and nine members of that team have returned for these Games three years later.
Three other athletes — Bethany Johnson, Desiree Isaac-Pictou and Sofia Fassi-Fehri — will be making their Paralympic debuts. All 12 members of the Paralympic squad were part of the silver medal-winning team from the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games.
“We have a really good group," said Cindy Ouellet, who will compete in her fifth summer Games, in a press release. “We’ve got everything physically and mentally. We've got a mix of fast athletes and experienced athletes. I think we have a good team all around to compete well. We’re going into this summer confident.”
Tamara Steeves will compete in her fourth Paralympic Games, with Arinn Young, Melanie Hawtin and Rosalie Lalonde all heading to their third.
Canada will compete in Pool A in Paris against Great Britain, China and Spain. The women open the tournament against China on August 29.
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The men will compete in Pool A against Great Britain, Germany, and the hosts France, starting with France on August 30.
Eleven members of the team played in Tokyo three years ago, with Reed De’Aeth the lone debutant. Veteran national team member Patrick Anderson will make his sixth Paralympic appearance, while Bo Hedges is heading to a fifth Paralympics, Tyler Miller will participate in his fourth, and Chad Jassman is going to his third.
Canada qualified for the Paralympics by beating Italy at the Men’s IWBF Repechage Tournament in Antibes, France in April. They finished eighth at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, and last year won a bronze medal in Santiago at the 2023 Parapan American Games — beating Argentina.
“We have an exciting roster heading to Paris with a good mix of experience and talent,” said Matteo Feriani, Canada’s men’s head coach, in a press release. “Our athletes are hungry and have a lot of desire to show up at the highest level in the toughest competition ever faced in wheelchair basketball.”
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The wheelchair basketball tournaments will take place from August 29 to September 8 at Bercy Arena in Paris. The preliminary rounds will end on September 2, with the men’s quarterfinals taking place a day later and the women’s quarterfinals on September 4.
The semifinals take place in the following days before the medal games on September 7 and 8.
Canada has won eight Paralympic medals in wheelchair basketball. The Canadian men won gold at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and London 2012 with a Beijing 2008 silver medal mixed in. The women’s team won three golds in a row from 1992 to 2000, before winning a bronze in 2004.
They are looking to restore the teams to their former glory this summer.
“The coaches have changed the mentality in our team’s core,” Ouellet said in a press release. “We just want to prove that we’re not a fifth-place team and can reach that final game.”
Full rosters:
Women’s team:
Kady Dandeneau – Pender Island, BC
Sofia Fassi-Fehri – Montreal, QC
Melanie Hawtin – Oakville, ON
Desiree Isaac-Pictou – Eel River Bar First Nation, NB
Bethany Johnson – Winnipeg, MB
Rosalie Lalonde – Saint-Clet, QC
Puisand Lai – Toronto, ON
Tara Llanes – North Vancouver, BC
Cindy Ouellet – Quebec City, QC
Tamara Steeves – Mississauga, ON
Élodie Tessier – Saint-Germain de Grantham, QC
Arinn Young – Legal, AB
Men’s team:
Patrick Anderson – Fergus, ON
Vincent Dallaire – Quebec City, QC
Reed De’Aeth – Sherwood Park, AB
Nik Goncin – Regina, SK
Bo Hedges – Wonowon, BC
Colin Higgins – Rothesay, NB
Chad Jassman – Calgary, AB
Lee Melymick – Toronto, ON
Tyler Miller – Kitchener, ON
Blaise Mutware – Toronto, ON
Garrett Ostepchuk – Regina, SK
Jonathan Vermette – Sherbrooke, QC
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