Wheelchair curler Ina Forrest and hockey player Greg Westlake have been named Canada’s flag bearers for the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing on Friday. A victory in itself, according to them.
After two years of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a meteoric rise in the number of contamination cases in recent months due to the Omicron variant, the Paralympians seemed relieved on Wednesday. “We were like, ‘Wow, we made it!’ when we finally boarded the plane. [en direction de Pékin] “said Forrest. It’s been stressful, Westlake added. We could lie and say it wasn’t, but one of the biggest challenges of these Games was getting there. »
This is the first time that the role of flag bearer will be shared by two Canadian athletes at the Paralympic Games. Westlake and Forrest are two of Canada’s most decorated athletes in Paralympic Winter Games history.
Forrest, a 59-year-old athlete from Spallumcheen, British Columbia, won Paralympic gold in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014, as well as bronze in Pyeongchang in 2018. She also won three titles career world.
“I’m very happy to have been selected,” Forrest said of being selected as the standard bearer. It’s one of those proud moments of being Canadian. As a Canadian athlete, you experience some of these throughout your career. So it will be just one more to add to the long list of moments that rejoice in the depths of your heart. »
Westlake, 35, is competing at his fifth Paralympic Games. The Oakville, Ont., athlete hopes he and his teammates can return to the top step of the podium after losing to the United States in the final in 2018.
Westlake won gold at the Paralympic Games in Turin in 2006 and bronze in Sochi in 2014.
The Paralympic Games begin on Friday and run through March 13.
Star cross-country skier Brian McKeever, holder of 17 Paralympic medals, was Canada’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang four years ago. Para judo athlete Priscilla Gagné was Canada’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympic Games last summer.