Paris 2024 Paralympics Day 4: Two legendary Canadians add silver medals to their collections
Canada is still waiting for its first gold medal in Paris.
Two of Canada’s most decorated athletes picked up the 12th Paralympic medals of their careers on Sunday, both silvers as the hunt for the country’s first gold at Paris 2024 continues.
Aurélie Rivard won her second medal of the Games, picking up a silver medal in one of her signature events — the women’s 100m freestyle S10. Rivard entered Paris 2024 as the twice-reigning champion in this event from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, and the world and Paralympic record holder, but on this night she was beaten to the wall by France’s Emeline Pierre.
Rivard, who had the fastest time in the morning’s qualifying session, was fourth after one length of the pool, but charged back the other way in the second 50 metres and ended up finishing second, just 0.33 seconds behind Pierre.
“The first thing that I saw when I walked on deck was my family, and it was so special to share the moment with them,” said Rivard after the race. “Also being able to be on the podium with a French girl in a French stadium with French people made it so much more amazing. I was happy for her. I'm so happy to see how many people there are and how happy and excited they are for Paralympic swimming.
“I'm so happy to be able to be in the moment and really enjoyed it, despite me having higher expectations for myself. But it will always be special to be on the podium for Canada and race in front of thousands of people, especially in front of my family.”
The other four Canadian swimmers in action on Sunday were eliminated in the first round of their respective events. Arianna Hunsicker raced in the same event as Rivard but was eliminated in a different heat, while Alec Elliot and Fernando Lu finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in their heats of the men’s 100m freestyle S10. Reid Maxwell finished fifth in his heat of the men’s 200m individual medley SM8, also missing out on the final.
Also winning the 12th Paralympic medal of his career was Para athletics legend Brent Lakatos, who picked up a silver in the men’s 400m T53. Lakatos got out to a great start on the outside lane and forced his opponents to hunt him down, which Pongsakorn Paeyo of Thailand was able to do.
Lakatos nearly pulled back in front in the final sprint to the line, but ran out of track and ended up in second. With the medal, Lakatos has extended his streak of getting at least one to four Paralympics in a row, going all the way back to London 2012.
Julia Hanes made her Paralympic debut in the women’s javelin throw F34 final, finishing eighth. She set a new Paralympic record of 15.34 metres for F33 athletes (who have to compete up a class at Paris 2024) with her second throw, but it would be beaten shortly after by Morocco’s Fouzia El Kassioui — who set the previous record in Tokyo.
Austin Smeenk was in action in the morning session, winning his first round heat in the men’s 100m T34 event and qualifying for Monday’s final.
After beating Austria’s Michael Meier in the 1/8 elimination final with a narrow 140-139 victory earlier on Sunday, Kyle Tremblay advanced to the quarterfinals of the men’s compound open Para archery event where he took on world number one Rakesh Kumar of India. After five ends there were no points to separate Tremblay and Kumar at 144-144, so a shoot-off was needed. Both athletes shot a ten, but Kumar was closer to the centre of the target, advancing to the semifinals by just millimetres and knocking Tremblay out of the competition.
Peter Isherwood made history on Sunday as the first Canadian to compete in the wheelchair classification in Para table tennis at the Paralympic Games, but his tournament came to end after just one match, falling to Poland’s Tomasz Jakimczuk in the men’s Class 2 round of 32.
Jacob Wassermann finished fourth in the B final of the PR1 men’s single sculls rowing competition, placing tenth overall in his Paralympic debut.
Canada ended its women’s wheelchair basketball group stage on a high, dominating Spain 81-49 to finish second in Pool A with a 2-1 record. Kady Dandeneau led the way for Canada with a triple-double, including a team-high 36 points. Canada turn their attention to the quarterfinals next, where they will play the team who finishes third in Pool B.
Pool play also wrapped up in women’s goalball, with Canada drawing 0-0 with South Korea. With that result, Canada finished second in their group — ahead of the Koreans on goal difference — and will now play Israel, who finished third in the other group, in the quarterfinals.
The wheelchair rugby team won the first of two placement games to determine their final positioning in the tournament, beating Denmark 56-46 on Sunday. They will take on the hosts France on Monday, with the winner finishing fifth — which is where Canada finished at Tokyo 2020 as well. The United States and Japan will battle it out for gold, Australia will take on Great Britain for bronze, and Denmark will play Germany in the 7/8 game.
Three Canadian triathletes were supposed to compete on Sunday, but their events were postponed to Monday due to water quality issues in the Seine River.
There was another piece of unfortunate Team Canada news away from the field of play on Sunday, as it was announced that Para cyclist Mike Sametz has been forced to withdraw from the Games due to injury. He crashed in training for an upcoming road cycling event and landed on his hip, fracturing it and requiring surgery. Sametz, who won a bronze medal at Rio 2016, was set to make his return to the Games after missing out on Tokyo 2020 with an injury as well.
What’s happening on Day 5?
Below are all of the Canadian athletes competing on Monday. Click here for CBC’s guide on when and where to watch every Paralympic event.
It’ll be a busy day in the pool, with five events featuring nine Canadian swimmers — beginning with Sabrina Duchesne in the heats of the women’s 400m freestyle S7 event before Nikita Ens and Aly Van Wyck-Smart both race in the women’s 50m backstroke S3 heats.
Nicholas Bennett, after winning a silver medal in the men’s 200m freestyle S14 on Saturday will compete in his second event at Paris 2024 in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB14, starting in the heats on Monday morning. He won a silver medal in this event at the 2023 world championships. Nicolas-Guy Turbide races in the men’s 50m freestyle S13 heats looking to reach the final in search of a third career Paralympic medal.
Canada will also enter a team in the mixed 4x100m medley 34 points relay. Wearing the maple leaf in the relay will be Shelby Newkirk, Fernando Lu, Katie Cosgriffe, and Reid Maxwell.
The finals for all five events will be on Monday night.
In Para athletics, Austin Smeenk will race in the final of the men’s 100m T34 event, after having the fourth-fastest time in qualifying. Chaiwat Rattana of Thailand will be the racer to beat after setting a new Paralympic record in his heat, while Tunisia’s Walid Ktila is the world record holder and three-time reigning champion going back to London 2012. Smeenk was the silver medallist in this event at the 2023 world championships in Paris — behind Rattana and ahead of Ktila on the podium.
Canada’s three Para triathletes will be hoping to finally compete on Monday, after events were postponed from Sunday due to water quality issues in the Seine River. Leanne Taylor is the first Canadian scheduled to compete, in the women’s PTWC event, followed by Stefan Daniel and Kamylle Frenette in the men’s and women’s PTS5 races. Daniel is ranked first in the world in his classification, and reached the podium at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, while Frenette and Taylor are ranked second and fourth in their classifications. Frenette finished fourth in Tokyo, and Taylor is making her Paralympic debut.
Canadian athletes competing in non-medal events on day 5:
Fresh off a silver medal in the 400m, Brent Lakatos is back on the track on Monday, racing in the men’s 1500m T54 heats. The final, if Lakatos is able to advance, takes place on Tuesday.
Rob Shaw faces a tough test in his second match in the wheelchair tennis quad singles quarterfinals, taking on the second seeded player, Niels Vink of the Netherlands.
The women’s sitting volleyball team take on Rwanda in its final group stage match, looking for a win that would send them into the semifinals. Canada sit second in their group with a 1-1 record after two matches, needing to stay in the top two to have a chance to play for a medal. Rwanda sit bottom of the group at 0-2.
The men’s wheelchair basketball team completes its group stage with a match against Germany, who like Canada have a 1-1 record after two games. Every team is guaranteed a spot in the knockout rounds, but winning is still important for potentially getting a more favourable matchup in the quarterfinals.
Canada’s wheelchair rugby team finishes its tournament on Monday when they play the hosts France in the fifth-place game. A victory would match the team’s result from Tokyo 2020.
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