Alison Levine lands long-awaited boccia gold medal at Parapan Am Games
Devin Heroux | CBC Sports | Posted: November 22, 2023 7:53 PM | Last Updated: November 23, 2023
Trio of other Canadians reach podium in precision-based sport
Canadian boccia athletes racked up four medals on Wednesday at the Parapan Am Games in Santiago, Chile.
Two-time Parapan Am Games medallist Alison Levine led the way with her first individual gold medal.
"It feels amazing. I knew coming into the game I was assured my first Parapan individual medal — for it to be gold is amazing," Levine told CBC Sports.
"I played awesome. I don't want to sound immodest but I played amazing and I feel great."
Wearing her lucky red shoes and socks adorned with maple leaves, Montreal's Levine defeated her Colombian rival Leidy Chica Chica 4-2 to claim the BC4 individual title.
"Something felt different. This year has been amazing. I felt so comfortable coming into this game. I'm in my element. This is what I do," Levine said.
"Canada. What more can I say? We're so well-supported, having so much fun, it's just awesome."
Allard, Cryderman secure silver
At the same time Levine was playing for gold, so too was her Canadian teammate Danik Allard.
Allard, from Bois-des-Filion, Que., is ranked 16th in the men's BC2 division and made his Paralympic debut in Tokyo. He was also making his Parapan Am Games debut.
In a hard-fought battle, Allard lost 6-1 to Brazilian Maciel de Sousa Santos in the men's BC2 final.
But while it didn't go his way on this day, Allard was still very pleased to come away with a medal.
"It's a real battle and I'm talented and I know what I showed today during this game. I'm proud of myself," he said. "That's my first Parapan Am Games. At 22 years old that's a lot for me and I've been working hard this year. Thank you for all the support. I love my country."
Boccia is a game of precision and extreme focus. The object of the game is to throw leather balls as close to the jack as possible. There are four classifications, three of which are for players with cerebral palsy.
Lance Cryderman can't get enough of it and he's made a triumphant return to the sport he loves.
Twenty-three years after his last multi-sport Games appearance in boccia, Canada's Cryderman won silver in the men's BC1 event at the Parapan Am Games in Santiago.
Despite losing to Mexican Eduardo Sanchez in the gold-medal game, the 42-year-old was overrun with emotion having reached the podium, something he wondered would ever happen again in his career.
"It's a really big moment for me. This game didn't go my way but it is what it is," Cryderman, of Sudbury, Ont., said. "I'm really proud of the silver. I came here seeded third, left second. So we're making progress towards Paris."
WATCH | Early highlights from Wednesday's action:
'Look at what's possible'
Cryderman retired from sport after the 2000 Paralympics, opting to finish his masters degree in business administration.
He was watching a webcast of the 2017 Canadian Boccia Championships when his passion for the sport was reignited.
A year later he'd win silver in the 2018 Canadian Boccia Championships. And then last year he made the national team for the world championships, where he reached the round of 16.
Just a few months ago, Cryderman won bronze in the test event in Santiago. It was his first international medal.
"When I made the decision to return to the sport it wasn't about accolades. It was about demonstrating to my kids that if you really want to achieve something in your life and put the effort in, look at what's possible," Cryderman said.
"If I can do it in my condition, what's the excuse? I am so thankful for all of the support, everybody back home. I couldn't be here without everybody, especially my wife and all of the support back home."
Earlier in the day, in an all-Canadian showdown for bronze, it was Iulian Ciobanu defeating Marco Dispaltro in the men's BC4.
And Canada's Kristyn Collins was defeated in the women's BC2 bronze-medal match, losing to Ecuador's Joselyn Leon.
WATCH | Late highlights from Wednesday's action:
Tremblay grabs Para archery bronze
Meanwhile, Kyle Tremblay added a bronze medal in Para archery, winning his open men's compound match against Mexico's Victor Sardina with a bulls-eye in the shoot-off.
Tremblay, the 32-year-old from Deep River, Ont., already secured a Paralympic quota spot for Canada at these Games by reaching the medal round.
"I wanted this one for Canada," Tremblay said. "I got the spot but going home with the medal makes it that much sweeter."
Para archery returned to the Games in Santiago after not being on the 2019 program.
On the track, Keegan Gaunt of Thunder Bay, Ont., raced to bronze in the women's T13 1,500 metres.
Gaunt, the 23-year-old competing in her first multi-sport Games, crossed the finish line in four minutes 53.75 seconds. She is the daughter of Robbi Weldon, who won Paralympic gold as a cyclist for Canada at London 2012.
In goalball, Amy Burk, of Charlottetown, led Canada with five goals in a 10-0 rout of Mexico. The Canadians have won three straight since dropping their opening preliminary-round match 5-3 to the United States.
Gaunt and Weldon are both visually impaired.
The men's goalball team faced Chile in a match later Wednesday.
Canada makes wheelchair rugby final
Meanwhile, Canada defeated Brazil 60-45 to advance to the wheelchair rugby final and a rematch with the top-ranked United States.
The Americans, who closed out the preliminary round with a loss to Canada, defeated Colombia 52-45 in the other semifinal.
The winner of the final gains not only Parapan gold, but also a berth in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
It's the third straight Parapan Am Games that the U.S. and Canada have squared off for gold and a Paralympic berth.
`'Our rivalry never gets old," said four-time Paralympian Travis Murao of Toronto, who scored four of his five tries in the first five minutes. "'This is why we keep playing this game year after year, to get those big match-ups. It's going to be exciting."
Canada's men's wheelchair basketball team also posted an impressive result, downing Puerto Rico 88-31 to reach the semifinals.
More results
In the pool, Tyson McDonald of Woodstock, Ont., won silver in the men's SM14 200-metre individual medley and Fernando Lu of Burnaby, B.C., earned bronze in the S10 men's 100 butterfly.
In track and field, Toronto's Sheriauna Haase took bronze in the women's T47 200 metres and Calgary's Noah Vucsics was a bronze medallist in men's T20 long jump.
In other Canadian results, the women's goalball team shut out Mexico 10-0 to book a semifinal matchup against Brazil, and Canadian para archer Kyle Tremblay hit a bull's-eye in the shoot-off to win the bronze-medal match in the men's individual compound open.
Canada's 24 medals, including four gold, ranked seventh among participating countries. There are 135 Canadian athletes competing.