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The 2008 Paralympic Summer Games get underway in Beijing in just two days, and the Canadian team is ready to show the world what it can do!
The Games run from September 6 – 17 and the Canadian team is aiming for a top-five finish in the overall medal race.
143 Canadian athletes are now in the Chinese capital preparing for competition in 17 sports—archery, athletics, wheelchair basketball (men’s and women’s), boccia, cycling, equestrian, wheelchair fencing, goalball (men’s and women’s), judo, powerlifting, rowing, wheelchair rugby, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis and wheelchair tennis. Canada will not take part in sitting volleyball, five-a-side football, and seven-a-side football.
The Games kick off Saturday with the opening ceremonies, where swimmer Donovan Tildesley will lead the Canadian team into the Beijing National Stadium (also known as the Bird’s Nest). Tildesley was selected to be the flag bearer from a group of three finalists, which included boccia player Paul Gauthier and wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc. Tildesley, a swimmer with a visual impairment, is a world record holder who continually gives back to the community. He too plans to retire after Beijing.
Competition officially gets underway on Sunday.
If you’re interested in catching Canada’s Paralympians in action, you can check out the following:
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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