Canada had its best day yet at the Paris Paralympic Games on Wednesday.
Four athletes stood on the podium, two with gold medals and two others with silver, bringing Canada’s medal total to 17, including four gold.
Swimmer Nicholas Bennett and shot putter Greg Stewart won gold, while road cyclist Nathan Clement and swimmer Reid Maxwell each won silver.
“It’s a success, to say the least.”
Bennett triumphed in the 200m individual medley, two days after winning gold in the 100m breaststroke. He became the first Canadian to win multiple gold medals in swimming at the Paralympic Games since Quebec’s Benoit Huot won five at the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece.
“Seven hundredths of a second faster than my world record is an achievement to say the least,” said Bennett, who set a Paralympic record of 2 minutes 6.05 seconds.
“I was definitely a lot more comfortable in the race today. I knew I definitely had a chance to be close to my world record.”
For his part, Maxwell became the youngest Canadian swimmer to win a Paralympic medal since Quebec’s Aurélie Rivard in 2012 (silver), when she was 16 years old.
The 17-year-old Albertan touched the wall six tenths of a second after Italian Alberto Amodeo in the 400m freestyle.
“This is everything I’ve ever dreamed of, coming here,” Maxwell said. “To be able to get a medal is a whole different story. Honestly, that fight in the last 50 metres made it all worth it.”
Greg Stewart looks to the future
Stewart successfully defended his title won at the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago by winning the men’s F46 shot put title at the Stade de France.
The 38-year-old British Columbian retired after the Tokyo Games and eventually reversed his decision to be in Paris. And now he’s looking to the future.
“I’m going to Los Angeles [aux Jeux de 2028]he said. I wanted to come back and continue to support the Paralympic movement and support the athletes in any way I could.”
Nathan Clement wins silver
Road cyclist Clement is another medallist who had announced his retirement and ultimately decided to return for glory in Paris.
The 29-year-old from West Vancouver, B.C., finished second in the men’s time trial in the T1-2 category.
Clement competed in the swimming events at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, before making the jump to paracycling.
“It means a lot to me. It’s something I’m still trying to achieve right now, to be a Paralympic medallist,” he said. “During my journey as a stroke survivor at the age of two and a half, my parents were told very early on that I would not have a chance at a normal life.”
“Organizations and centres like the BC Centre for Ability really gave me, at four or five years old, the opportunity to play and have fun. I didn’t know I had arms and legs, but what was most important to my parents was that it gave them hope for a world of possibilities.”
Other results of the day
Canada will face Thailand for bronze in the BC4 mixed doubles boccia on Thursday.
The Canadians opened the day with a 6-0 quarterfinal win over Ukraine, but lost 6-4 to Hong Kong in the semifinals later.
In women’s wheelchair basketball, Canada defeated Germany 71-53 in the quarterfinals.
Kady Dandeneau led the team with 33 points. The semifinal is Friday.
The Canadians defeated Japan 1-0 in goalball in the fifth-place match. They lost 5-1 to Israel in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.