Boccia double gold medallist Alison Levine carries Canadian flag into closing ceremony
CBC Sports | Posted: November 26, 2023 3:26 PM | Last Updated: November 27, 2023
Won women's BC4 tournament, BC4 pairs title alongside Iulian Ciobanu
Alison Levine will bring home two gold medals from her third Parapan Am Games, plus the honour of carrying the Canadian flag into the closing ceremony Sunday evening in Santiago, Chile.
"I never in a million years thought of this moment," the boccia player from Montreal said in a statement released by the Canadian Paralympic Committee.
"I'm shocked, everyone who has carried that flag has been selected for a reason, and to just feel like I was selected for a reason as well is so amazing."
Levine, who is ranked third in the world, began the week with her first-ever individual podium finish at the Games, defeating world No. 1 Leidy Chica Chica in the women's BC4 final.
The two-time Paralympian went on to win gold in BC4 pairs alongside Iulian Ciobanu, upgrading the silver (Toronto 2015) and bronze (Lima 2019) from previous Parapan Am appearances.
With the victory, the 33-year-old and Ciobanu also earned a quota spot for Canada in the event for next summer's Paralympic Games in Paris.
"This is going to be a cumulation of this year, a cumulation of the 10 years of my boccia journey," Levine said of the closing ceremony, which began at 7 p.m. ET and was streamed live on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem. "I can't wait, and I know it's going to be so awesome."
Para cyclist Shelley Gautier and wheelchair tennis player Rob Shaw carried the flag for Canada in the opening ceremony.
Josh Vander Vies, Canada's co-chef de mission for these Games in Santiago, was "thrilled" to announce Levine as the team's flag-bearer, adding she reached a new pinnacle in boccia after leading the way for several years.
"Alison has been an incredible ambassador within the Canadian and international Paralympic movement for many years, and this has been so evident this week with her performance on the court and leadership off the court," noted co-chef de mission Karolina Wisniewska.
"It is wonderful to be able to celebrate her with this much-deserved honour."
The 135-member Canadian team finished the Games with 52 medals — nine gold, 15 silver and 28 bronze. The 52 medals ranked sixth among all countries while the nine gold were eighth. Brazil led all countries with 343 medals and 156 gold.
Four years ago in Peru, Canadian athletes won 60 medals, including 17 gold.
Canada's best performance at the Games in 2015 resulted in 168 medals on home soil in Toronto.