Canada regains its composure after difficulties in Tokyo

(Paris) Canada appeared to be getting its act together at the Paralympics, but it was more of a return to usual form.

Canada’s 10 gold medals in Paris were the most since 19 golds in Beijing in 2008.

The 29 medals in total matched those at the Rio Games in 2016 and far exceeded the 21 medals in Tokyo.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit parasport harder than sport in general, as international and domestic competitions have been decimated.

Canada’s strict pandemic restrictions have added an extra layer of challenge for medal hopefuls in Tokyo, on top of the adaptations they’ve had to make to continue their sport.

“I would say it’s a bit of a step forward,” Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) CEO Karen O’Neill said Sunday. “We wanted to reverse the decline in our performance, particularly in summer sports, that has been evident over the last two quarters.”

“COVID-19 has been challenging for our Olympic and Paralympic athletes, but it has been significantly more challenging for our Paralympians because many additional supports and services were not available.”

Canada ranked 15th^etied with India for the medal tally and 11^ealong with Germany and Uzbekistan, for the number of gold medals among 168 countries. The representatives of the maple leaf reached the podium in seven sports.

Swimming and athletics led the way with a total of 22 medals, including 10 gold.

“They had a great mix of beginners and more experienced athletes who are capable of performing on the highest stage,” said Catherine Gosselin-Després, CPC’s executive director of sports. “It’s really refreshing to see that in these two major sports, which are so important at the Paralympic Games.”

Nicholas Bennett of Parksville, B.C., had an exceptional Paralympic Games with two gold medals and a silver in swimming.

The Tokyo Paralympics were postponed from 2020 to 2021 and were held without spectators due to the pandemic.

Bennett was not fazed by the boisterous atmosphere at the Paris La Défense Arena during his second Paralympic Games.

“Just making the team was a monumental task. Then to swim against some of the best athletes in the world and rank among them to be the best, it was crazy,” the 20-year-old said. “The experience in the pool, it was so loud I could barely hear my own thoughts. Compared to Tokyo, you could hear a pin drop.”

He and paracanoeist Brianna Hennessy of Ottawa were chosen to carry the Canadian flag at the closing ceremony on Sunday at Place de la Concorde.

Hennessy gave Canada its first Paralympic medal in canoeing, with a silver.

“We’re really seeing a shift in parasport around the world,” the 39-year-old said. “I always say when we come here, we’re representing our country, but we’re representing something much bigger than that. It’s the disability movement. They shouldn’t have to do anything extraordinary to be seen or respected in their communities.”

The women’s sitting volleyball team’s bronze medal was Canada’s first Paralympic medal in a team sport since London 2012.

The common denominator among Canadian medallists is that they started in one Paralympic sport before moving on to another in which they excelled.

Victoria’s Cody Fournie won two wheelchair sprints after a decade in wheelchair rugby. Cycling silver medallist Nathan Clement of West Vancouver, B.C., swam at the 2016 Paralympics before switching to cycling.

Canada’s parasport system must continue to be flexible to make these changes happen, Gosselin-Després observed.

“Like most of the top nations in the world, we rely a bit on athlete transfer,” she explained. “A lot of athletes start in one sport and either play a mixed sport or a sport they’re going to be more successful in. We need our coaches and technical people to be able to have those conversations with the athletes.”

Paris marks the first time Canadian Paralympians will receive a medal bonus on par with their Olympian counterparts: $20,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.

The CPC will provide $8 million in endowment funds to athletes. Health tech entrepreneur Sanjay Malaviya contributed $4 million and the federal government $2 million.

Malaviya also renewed the $5,000 per medalist grants to supplement the medal bonuses.

The Paris Paralympics sold more than 2.3 million tickets, second only to London’s 2.7 million, according to the Associated Press. French fans have been generous in their support of international athletes and vocal for their own athletes.

“I really hope that when Canadians see the power of what happened here at the Paralympics and the team that is coming home, they will see not only an exceptionally talented team of athletes, but also the power of sport to showcase the diversity of our country and how much we have in common,” said O’Neill. “It should no longer be acceptable that the communities and the country we live in are not accessible.”