Four boccia athletes named to Canadian Paralympic team for Paris 2024
All four have prior Paralympic experience.
Four experienced boccia players were named to Team Canada for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Thursday, as they look to build on an impressive showing at the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games last year.
The team consists of Danik Allard, Iulian Ciobanu, Lance Cryderman, and Alison Levine. All four have prior Paralympic experience, with Allard making his second consecutive appearance and Ciobanu and Levine going to their third in a row. Cryderman is making his second Paralympic appearance, with the first coming over two decades ago at Sydney 2000.
Currently ranked second in the world in the women’s BC4 category, Levine was Canada’s closing ceremony flag bearer at Santiago 2023 after winning two gold medals — in the individual event, and the pairs event with Ciobanu.
“I’m very excited, happy, and proud,” said Levine in a press release. “As always, my way of being is to have fun and that’s the most important. And that’s how my results will come – try not to think too much, tell my brain to be quiet, and just enjoy.
“I’m also very happy to have Danik and Lance joining us in Paris as well. There’s a lot of attention on Iulian and me so it’s great to have doubled our team.”
Ciobanu added a bronze medal in the men’s BC4 individual event in Santiago, and is currently ranked eighth in the world. In Paris he will be competing in both the individual event and the pairs one with Levine.
The pair won a bronze medal at the 2022 world championships as well, and are ranked third in the world entering Paris 2024. Their gold medal in Santiago is what booked their ticket to the Paralympics.
“We’ve been working hard, day after day, week by week, month after month, every competition to get where we are today,” said Ciobanu in a press release. “To say ‘we qualified’ is an understatement and does not take into account the time, effort and work that goes behind the results.
“Substantial work has been done on my side in the past three years post Tokyo. In fact, we not only qualified but exceeded the expectations and objectives of the qualification process, which Alison and I are extremely proud of.”
A Sydney 2000 Paralympian, Cryderman retired from competitive boccia for more than 15 years before returning in 2017. Last year, he won the silver medal at the Parapan Am Game in the BC1 category, and currently ranked eleventh in the world in that category.
Allard was eliminated in the preliminary round at Tokyo 2020, but heads into Paris off the back of a round of 16 appearance at the 2022 worlds. He is currently ranked 12th in the world in the BC2 classification.
“I’m very honoured to have qualified for a second Paralympic Games,” said Allard in a press release. “It’s a great opportunity that I will take full advantage of, and my goal is to demonstrate my evolution while I’m there. Now that COVID is behind us, I can live the true experience of the Games and one that I’m really excited for!”
Allard and Cryderman received their spots for Paris through a bipartite allocation from World Boccia.
Individual boccia will take place at South Paris Arena from August 29 to September 2, which all four Canadians will take part in. Ciobanu and Levine will also compete in the BC4 pairs event from September 3 to 5.
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