More athletes named for Rio 2016

The Australian men’s wheelchair basketball team, and Canada’s boccia and sailing teams for September’s Paralympic Games have been announced. 19 Jul 2016
Imagen
Shaun Norris competes at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Shaun Norris competes at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

ⒸIPC Credit
By Australian Paralympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee

Australia have announced their 12-strong men’s wheelchair basketball team, and Canada have nominated six boccia players and six sailors for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

 

Reigning world champions Australia will be looking to improve on their London 2012 wheelchair basketball silver medal performance at Rio 2016.

 

“Every time I hear the word London, for whatever reason, it takes me back to that final and it burns,” said team’s captain Brad Ness.

 

“I hate the feeling it stirs inside of me, but it has given me motivation to come back and make amends for what happened in the final.

 

“We have learnt a lot since then and I am going to make sure I do everything I can to never have to feel that again, and if that is hunger, then I am starving.”

 

Tristan Knowles, Shaun Norris, Brett Stibners and Tige Simmons are the other remaining members of the team that claimed gold at Beijing 2008, whilst Jannik Blair and Bill Latham will return after making their Paralympic debut in London.

 

Josh Allison, Adam Deans, Matt McShane, Tom O’Neill-Thorne and Shawn Russell will all have their first Paralympic experience in Rio.

 

Athens 2004 champion Paul Gauthier and London 2012 bronze medallist Marco Dispaltro will be part of Canada’s boccia team at Rio 2016, alongside Paralympic debutants Iulian Ciobanu, Alison Levine, Eric Bussiere and Marylou Martineau.

 

“All six athletes are a pleasure to work with, they are confident and they look forward to facing the challenges of the Paralympic Games,” said head coach Mario Delisle.

 

“The last performance for many of these athletes at the international level looked great and I can feel everyone’s excitement. Some important fine tuning work is ahead in July and August, ensuring our team will be a force to reckon with in September.”

 

Canada will also have sailors in each of the classes, with Bruce Millar competing in the 2.4m Norlin OD one-person keelboat, Jackie Gay and John McRoberts in the SKUD18 two-person keelboat and Logan Campbell, Scott Lutes and Paul Tingley in the sonar three-person keelboat.

 

“John (McRoberts) and Paul (Tingley) both came very close to the podium in their respective events in London and I am sure they are going into Rio extremely driven and focused,” said Team Canada Chef de Mission Chantal Petitclerc.

 

“Their experience should be very beneficial to their crews.”

 

Australia wheelchair basketball

 

Brad Ness

Tristan Knowles

Shaun Norris

Tige Simmons

Brett Stibners

Jannik Blair

Bill Latham

Josh Allison

Adam Deans

Matthew McShane

Tom O’Neill-Thorne

Shawn Russell

 

Canada boccia

 

Eric Bussiere

Paul Gauthier

Marylou Martineau

Alison Levine

Marco Dispaltro

Iulian Ciobanu

 

Canada sailing

 

Bruce Millar (2.4m Norlin OD)

Jackie Gay and John McRoberts (SKUD18)

Logan Campbell, Scott Lutes and Paul Tingley (sonar)

 

More information on the Australian men’s wheelchair basketball team is available on the Australian Paralympic Committee’s website.

More information on the boccia team can be found on the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s website.

More information on the sailing team can be found on the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s website.

 

___

 

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.