Santiago, Chile: Wheelchair Rugby Canada faced a hard-fought battle in the gold medal game at the Parapan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, ultimately succumbing to a 51-57 defeat against the United States. Canada, which placed silver, now faces the crucial task of winning a last-chance qualifier to clinch one of the top three spots and secure their ticket to the Paris 2024 Paralympics. 

Expressing immense pride in the team’s journey, Head Coach Patrick Côté stated, “In the lead-up to the final, we had a close to perfect tournament. The team felt confident throughout the tournament. It is disappointing that we were unable to execute the same way in the final. Credit to the US, who played close to a perfect game. They were able to put pressure on us, and we were unable to maintain the same momentum. We now need to regroup and switch our focus to the final qualifier in New Zealand. We will treat it as a different path to Paris.” 

While many Wheelchair Rugby Canada athletes, have some international experience. Santiago 2023 was the first Parapan Am games attended by athletes Matt Debly, and Rio Kanda Kovac. 

 “I had a great experience at my first Parapan American Games, Debly remarked. The atmosphere was amazing, the venues were great, and it was an incredible welcoming feeling from the entire country of Chile. The experience as a whole was phenomenal, and it hard to put things into words” 

“I first watched wheelchair rugby from the bleachers during the 2015 Parapan Am games in Toronto. Being able to participate in it has been surreal. Chile was really sweet, people were really nice and very welcoming, says Rio Kanda Kovac. It was a humbling moment not to win; we still have that hunger and the fire to achieve something bigger. As we move forward, I think we need to connect more as a team. As the youngest guy on the team, it can often be hard to connect with some of the guys. But at the end of the day, we all have the same goal in mind, we need to put everything on the table and grind out for the next 8 months.” 

Wheelchair Rugby Canada extends its gratitude to the organizers, sponsors and supporters who made the Santiago 2023 Parapan Am games possible.  

 

About Parapan American Games 

Wheelchair Rugby joined the Parapan Games in 2015. The 2015 Games saw the Canadians take home gold on home soil, earning their ticket to Rio in 2016. In 2019, the Americans got revenge, forcing Team Canada to earn their ticket to Tokyo at a last-chance qualifier. Now, Canada must once again earn their spot at the last-chance qualifier this spring to qualify for Paris 2024. 

About World Wheelchair Rugby Paralympic Qualification Tournament 

The tournament will be held from March 20th to 24th, 2024, with training and classification taking place from the 18th to the 19th. The venue will be at the new home of Wellington rugby, the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport, Trentham, Wellington. 

About Wheelchair Rugby Canada 

Wheelchair Rugby Canada is the national governing body for the Canadian Heritage Sport of wheelchair rugby. Wheelchair Rugby Canada strives to be a world leader in wheelchair rugby, a respected advocate for wheelchair athletes and a visionary organization committed to excellence in programs from recruitment to retirement. 

Media Contact 

Kevin Caswell 

Communications and Digital Media Intern 

613-371-5167 

communications@wheelchairrugby.ca