Canada, Guatemala name athletics squads

The National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) of Canada and Guatemala have announced their athletics rosters for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Canada will be sending 24 athletes, and Guatemala will be represented by one.

Guatemala

Track and field athlete Oscar Raxon, guided by Santos Martinez, will be the country´s sole representative at Rio 2016. Guatemala´s only Paralympic gold medal was won by weightlifter Jose Rolando in the men´s up to 57kg at Seoul 1988.

Canada

The Canadian team is headlined by multiple Paralympic medallists Brent Lakatos, Michelle Stilwell, Diane Roy and world champion Guillaume Ouellet.

"I know that all our athletes and coaches are making the most of these final few weeks of preparation before the Games as they work towards a peak performance in Rio,” Chef de Mission Chantal Petitclerc said.

At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Canada's athletics team won nine medals, led by Lakatos with three silvers (200m, 400m and 800m).

“These are my fourth Paralympic Games, and each one has been so different,” Lakatos said. “Athens was a blur, Beijing was bitter disappointment and London was my first taste of the podium. This will be the first time I head in as a favorite."

Stilwell, the team's lone gold medallist at London 2012, won gold in the 200m T52 and silver in the 100m.

Jason Dunkerley and guide Josh Karanja won silver in the 5,000m T11 and bronze in the 1,500m. Guillaume Ouellet will make his Paralympic Games debut as the reigning world champion in the 5,000m T13. Rio will mark Roy's sixth Paralympic Games, an impressive career that has seen her win five Paralympic Games medals overall.

"Our government is a proud supporter of Athletics Canada and our athletes should know that all Canadians are behind them as they go for gold in Brazil,” said Carla Qualtrough, Canada’s Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities.

More info on Canada’s Rio 2016 athletics team can be found on NPC Canada’s website.

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Sport fans from around the world can now buy their Paralympic tickets for Rio 2016 from authorised ticket resellers (ATRs)

The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on theCoSport website.

Residents of Brazil can buy 2016 Paralympics tickets directly from the Rio 2016 website.

Visa International is the exclusive payment card and the official payment system for the Paralympic Games.