Wheelchair basketball player Patrick Anderson and para-swimmer Katarina Roxon will be Canada’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paris Paralympic Games.
“With nine Paralympic Games appearances and six Paralympic medals between them, they are among the most accomplished Canadian Paralympians in history. Beyond their undeniable athletic merits, they have been leaders on their respective teams for many years and have had a huge impact on the development of their sport and parasport as a whole,” said Canadian co-Chef de Mission Karolina Wisniewska in a statement.
Anderson, of Fergus, Ont., will be competing in his sixth career Paralympic Games.
The 45-year-old veteran is considered one of the greatest wheelchair basketball players in history. Anderson has already led Canada to three gold medals and a silver at the Paralympic Games.
“It’s a huge honour and it’s very special,” Anderson said. “It’s a special country and it’s an opportunity to represent wheelchair basketball in front of the world and the entire Canadian Paralympic team. It was a real surprise. I was chosen and I’m going to rise to the occasion. It’s going to be awesome.”
As for Roxon, she will become the first Canadian para-swimmer to compete in five Paralympic Games in her career.
The 31-year-old from Corner Brook, N.L., was born with a deformity in her left arm. Roxon won gold in the breaststroke at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“I guess I don’t really realize it yet,” Roxon said. “When I heard it, I was thrilled that someone would think of me, when Canada has so many exceptional athletes.”
Anderson and her teammates will open their Paralympic tournament on Aug. 30 with a preliminary round match against Germany. The Canadian team finished eighth at the 2021 Tokyo Games and sixth at the 2023 world championships. Roxon will also be in action on Aug. 30 in the 100m breaststroke SB8, the same event that won her gold in Rio 2016. The Canadian finished fourth at Tokyo 2021, and she will also compete in the 200m individual medley SM9 on Sept. 5.
The opening ceremony will be held on Wednesday in Paris. The Canadian delegation will include 126 athletes, who will compete in 18 different disciplines that will take place from August 28 to September 8.