Canada’s sledge hockey and wheelchair curling teams are the defending Paralympic gold medalists, and the wheelchair curlers are also the reigning world champions.
“On behalf of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, I would like to congratulate these extraordinary athletes on their success,” said Blair McIntosh, Chef de Mission. “Canada has many talented sledge hockey players and wheelchair curlers, and competition for a place on these teams has been fierce. These talented athletes have trained hard to make it to Canada’s first winter Paralympic Games. All of Canada will be cheering for them this March as they go for gold.”
The roster of players to defend Canada's Paralympic sledge hockey title includes goal tenders Paul Rosen and Benoit St-Amand. Defense players will be Adam Dixon, Raymond Grassi, Jean Labonté, and Graeme Murray. Forwards include Jeremy Booker, Bradley Bowden, Billy Bridge, Marc Dorion, Hervé Lord, Shawn Matheson, Todd Nicholson, Greg Westlake, and Derek Whitson. These players range in age and experience and combine to create a strong contending team for gold at the upcoming Games in March.
The Wheelchair Curling Team has also been named and includes Brier veteran Jim Armstrong, who began wheelchair curling in 2007. He will be joined by Sonja Gaudet, who was a member of the gold medal winning team from the Torino 2006 Paralympic Games and Paralympic rookies, Darryl Neighbour, Ina Forrest and Bruno Yizek.
Canada’s Para-Alpine and Para-Nordic 2010 hopefuls are currently competing on the World Cup circuit and will be named in February 2010.
“These athletes have trained tirelessly to earn a place on Paralympic Team Canada for Vancouver 2010,” said Henry Storgaard, CPC CEO. “Their performances will make all Canadians proud and inspire a generation of young people with a disability to get involved in sport.”
For complete bios and photographs of these athletes visit www.paralympic.ca.
