For many of the sports, the Rio Parapanamerican Games are qualifying events for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Summer Games.
The athletes will be accompanied by 51 coaches, medical staff and other support team members. To view the complete list of athletes, click here.
“For some Canadian athletes, the Parapanamerican Games are a direct qualifier for Beijing and for other emerging athletes Rio is a valuable opportunity to gain an international, multi-sport Games experience prior to 2008,” says Rob Needham, Canadian team Chef de Mission.
The event is the first official America’s Regional Championship sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee and represents the first time that the Parapanamerican Games will take place in the same city and utilize the same venues as the PanAmerican Games.
CPC President Carla Qualtrough applauds the development, calling it “a significant step toward addressing a shortage of international competitive opportunities for many Paralympic sports within our region.”
“Linking the event with the PanAmerican Games increases the quality of the competition facilities,” says Qualtrough. “The Games are also an important platform to promote the growth and development of the overall Paralympic Movement, while inspiring future Paralympians.”
Canada is participating in eight of the ten sports at the elite competition for athletes with a physical disability: athletics, seven-a-side football (soccer), judo, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, swimming, men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball and table tennis. The other two sports are five-a-aside football and wheelchair tennis.
“We have not established a medal target for Rio. Our goal is to maximize the number of qualification slots earned for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Summer Games and to contribute to a successful Parapanamerican Games, so that it becomes a fixture on the international Paralympic competition calendar,” notes Needham.
The Parapanamerican Games are a direct qualifier for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games for all of the team sports being contested in Rio. Canadian athletes will also be pursuing Rio medals and Beijing qualification points in all of the individual sports.
About 1,300 athletes from 26 countries are expected to participate in the Rio 2007 Parapanamerican Games.
An online team handbook, with sport descriptions and biographies of all Canadian athletes can be found here. (1.45 MB)
The 2007 Canadian Parapanamerican team is supported by a partnership between the CPC and its member National Sport Organizations.
