From left: Wheelchair basketball player Pat Anderson is preparing for his sixth and final Paralympics, while Canadian teammate and Para swimmer Katarina Roxon is set to become the first Canadian female swimmer to compete at five Paralympics.
Basketball player Pat Anderson and swimmer Katarina Roxon, who have competed at a combined nine Paralympics, will lead Canada's delegation at Wednesday's opening ceremony at 1:20 p.m. ET at Place de la Concorde, the largest square in Paris.· Basketball player Pat Anderson and swimmer Katarina Roxon, who have competed at a combined nine Paralympics, will lead Canada's delegation at Wednesday's opening ceremony at 1:20 p.m.
"This is a big honour and special thing," Anderson stated in a Canadian Paralympic Committee news release. "This is a special country and an opportunity to represent wheelchair basketball in front of the world and the entire Canadian Paralympic Team.For Roxon, 31, she will become the first Canadian female swimmer to compete at five Paralympics, 16 years after her 2008 debut in Beijing."I don't think it's actually set in yet," said Roxon.
"Going way back we definitely knew we had a chance to win a gold medal and we knew we were one of the best teams there," Anderson told reporters during a recent Zoom call from Europe. "We were very confident. We were young, we were hungry, we hadn't won anything yet. "I'm grateful that I've hung around long enough to meet and play with and against a new generation of great talent," said Anderson, who lost both legs below the knee in a 1989 accident."Not just witness the evolution of the game but be part of it, be in the mix and bang up against these athletes that I really admire and enjoy watching."
"It's always super-exciting to represent your family, your town, your province, your country on whatever stage it is," said Roxon, who was born with her left arm missing below her elbow.Veteran Paralympian Katarina Roxon is swimming into her 5th gamesKatarina Roxon debuted in swimming at the Paralympic Games for the first time when she was just 15 years old. Today, the pride of Kippens, N.L., is preparing for her fifth Games.
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