Canadian Paralympic Committee expects to be top 16 in medals
Executive director 'confident' in team's ability to succeed in Rio
Canada expects to medal well at the upcoming Paralympic Games.
The Canadian Paralympic Committee announced in a press release that it is targeting a top-16 finish in the medal standings. The Games take place in Rio de Janeiro from September 7-18.
This goal would be an improvement on Canada's 20th-place finish at the 2012 London Paralympics, but still short of the seventh-place result from Beijing in 2008.
"It is harder now, more than ever, to make it on to the Paralympic podium because there are more sports and nations that are competitive, and the depth of field is emerging at a rapid rate," says Catherine Gosselin-Després, the Canadian Paralympic Committee's executive director for sport.
"We are confident in our member national sport organizations, athletes and coaches that they will leave no stone unturned and their hard work will pay off.
The CPC collaborated with Own the Podium to reach this conclusion. It measured current rankings, along with Canada's current pool of Paralympians and their most recent performances.
"Canada has set a lofty target for 2016, but we believe Team Canada are fully prepared and ready to be in the battle for medals," said Anne Merklinger, Own the Podium's chief executive officer.
"The rest of the world is not standing still and the performance bar is constantly being raised.