Two Island wheelchair rugby athletes are among the dozen nominated to Team Canada in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
All nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Paralympic Committee before athletes are officially named to the team.
Byron Green of Victoria, Trevor Hirschfield of Parksville and Joel Ewart of Prince George are on the team that includes nine returning members from Tokyo 2020, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Wheelchair Rugby Canada said in a news release announcing the nominations Thursday (July 11).
The rest of the team hails from Ontario and one from Alberta.
Mike Whitehead makes his sixth Paralympic Games appearance, followed by Hirschfield and Travis Murao heading to their fifth Games, and Patrice Dagenais and Zak Madell (Alberta) at their fourth.
All five veteran players are Paralympic medallists. Canada’s last podium finish at the Games was a silver in 2012.
Ewert is among three athletes making Paralympic debuts.
Canada, currently ranked fifth in the world, earned its spot for the Games through a last-chance qualification tournament in New Zealand in March, finishing second to Australia. The top three nations secured Paralympic places.
Wheelchair rugby takes place at Champ de Mars Arena, near the Eiffel Tower with Canada competing in Pool A alongside the U.S. (No. 2), Japan (No. 3), and Germany (No. 9). Preliminary play runs Aug. 29 to 31, with the semifinals Sept. 1, and medal games Sept. 2.
Canada expects to send about 130 athletes to the 2024 Games in Paris Aug. 28 to Sept. 8 in Paris, France.
