Canada’s Huot nominated for fifth Paralympic Games

Other big medals hopes in swimming include Aurelie Rivard who sits alongside a team of 22 athletes heading to Rio 2016. 15 Jul 2016
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Benoit Huot of Canada

Benoit Huot of Canada

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By IPC

Swimming Canada and the Canadian Paralympic Committee have proudly announced the 22 swimmers nominated for selection for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games this September.

Para swimming was the most productive sport for Canada at the London 2012 Paralympics, with 16 medals. This year, Benoit Huot, a 19-time Paralympic medallist, returns for a fifth Games while world record holder Aurelie Rivard, a silver medallist in London, leads the charge on the women’s side.

‘’Congratulations to our nominees from Para swimming, who have put in so many miles of training and continue to do so relentlessly,’’ said Team Canada Chef de Mission Chantal Petitclerc. ‘’The depth in this sport keeps getting stronger at every Games and our Canadians seem to always keep pace.’’

Six other Canadians with Paralympic Games experience are Isaac Bouckley, Devin Gotell, Morgan Bird, Sarah Mehain, Katarina Roxon, and Nathan Stein.

The 14 other athletes are all making their Paralympic Games debut, 13 of whom competed at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games. Danielle Dorris, 13, is a national team rookie and the youngest-ever swimmer to make the team.

“Swimming Canada is excited by both the veterans who have returned to the team and the number of rookies,” said Team Leader James Hood, Swimming Canada’s senior manager, high performance Para-swimming programmes. “Our veterans will continue to build on Canada’s great legacy in the Paralympic Movement. For the first timers, these Games will be their launching pad from 2016 to becoming our future leaders for Tokyo 2020.”

The Paralympic Games are set for 7-18 September, with the swimming events scheduled to take place from the 8-17 September.

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, presented each athlete, coach and staff member their Paralympic ring, continuing a proud tradition of Swimming Canada.

“The pool in Rio is calling your names and you have the resolve of Team Canada - 35 million strong – behind you on the way to the podium,’’ said Minister Qualtrough. ‘’On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to commend the work done by Swimming Canada to prepare our athletes for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.”

Athlete and coach biographies are available at Paralympic.ca/athletes. Bios and high resolution photos can be downloaded at from the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s photo database.

The athletes nominated to the Canadian team are:

Men

Isaac Bouckley*

Nathan Clement

Jonathan Dieleman

Alec Elliot

Devin Gotell*

Benoit Huot*

James Leroux

Gordie Michie

Tyler Mrak

Nathan Stein*

Nicolas Guy-Turbide

Women

Morgan Bird*

Tammy Cunnington

Danielle Dorris

Sabrina Duchesne

Nydia Langill

Sarah Mehain*

Aurelie Rivard*

Tess Routliffe

Katarina Roxon*

Samantha Ryan

Abi Tripp

*Denotes previous Paralympic Games experience

The nominated team will be supported by head coach Craig McCordand coaches France Latendresse, Vince Mikuskaand Mike Thompson.

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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 the CoSport 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.