Marco Dispaltro wins in Montreal, moves to world No. 1

Marco Dispaltro’s BC4 gold medal victory in his hometown for Canada was the highlight of the tournament, as he overcame Brazil’s two-time Paralympic champion Dirceu Pinto in a tense battle which needed a golden point to decide the outcome.

The 2014 BISFed World Open in Montreal, Canada, kicked off this year’s international boccia season last Thursday (4 May), and it did not disappoint, as many matches produced shocking results and new stars emerged.

In the BC1 event, the Netherlands’ Daniel Perez overpowered Russia’s Mikhail Gutnik with a 14-0 victory to claim the gold, as Great Britain’s world No. 1 David Smith had to surprisingly settle for a bronze medal after beating Canada’s Hanif Mawji, 11-1.

The BC2 final showcased an intense battle between Brazil’s 2012 Paralympic champion, Maciel Santos, and Slovakia’s Robert Mezik. Santos clinched the gold with a 5-3 win, and Argentina’s Sebastian Gonzalez picked up the bronze medal thanks to a golden point win in a tense match against Russia’s Roman Mukhin.

In the BC3 class, Argentina were amongst the medals again, but this time the colour was gold and the winner was Maria Belen Ruiz after seeing off Belgium’s Pieter Cilissen, 5-3. Russia’s unranked competitor Maxim Vasilev continued his country’s impressive performance in Montreal by picking up a bronze medal with an emphatic 8-0 win over Belgium’s Kenneth Verwimp.

Marco Dispaltro’s BC4 gold medal victory in his hometown for Canada was the highlight of the tournament, as he overcame Brazil’s two-time Paralympic champion Dirceu Pinto in a tense battle which needed a golden point to decide the outcome. With the win, Dispaltro moved up to world No. 1 in front of a home crowd. Brazil’s other boccia hero, Maciel Dos Santos, won bronze after beating Great Britain’s Nigel Murray 5-3.

Although they struggled in the individual competition, Brazil were on form in the BC1/BC2 team event, sealing an 8-3 win over the Netherlands to claim gold. Great Britain triumphed against Slovakia, 10-3, to win bronze.

Singapore were the only nation from Asia present in Montreal, and they made their presence known in the BC3 pairs event with a 5-2 gold medal win over Brazil, and Belgium defeated Russia 3-2 to win bronze.

The BC4 pairs event saw Brazil power through to a 4-3 victory over Slovakia to win their third gold of the tournament, and Great Britain beat host nation Canada 6-2 to claim the last place on the podium.