Raucous Brazilian fans embrace wheelchair basketball

RIO DE JANEIRO — When the Canadian women's wheelchair basketball team defeated host Brazil on Monday, Rio Olympic Arena was vibrating with volume for every basket.

Though the Canadians were eliminated from medal contention on Tuesday, losing 78-60 to a talented Netherlands team in the quarter-finals, the memories from the Brazilian match will stick with members of the national team as an encouraging sign of the sport's growing profile internationally.

"To me, personally, it was the best moment in my wheelchair basketball career so far," said Arinn Young of the game versus Brazil. "The crowd was nuts, I loved it. When we first started we couldn't even hear each other and we were side-by-side."

Several of Canada's veteran players said that this challenging draw in the quarter-finals is a testament to the world-wide talent surge in the women's game. For the first time in history the African nation of Algeria qualified a women's team for the Paralympic tournament.

The growth of the sport has afforded many international players the opportunity to train and compete on a full or part-time basis. If the reception of Brazil's fans is any indication, then exciting days lie ahead for the game.

"They just love sport," said Darda Sales. "They want to see us play and I think that's fantastic. I really hope that this has a lasting impact on the people of Brazil, that they see that Paralympic sport is a sport, it's exciting, it's thrilling and has wins and losses, the same things as all of the sports they love. Hopefully it will continue beyond the Paralympic Games."

Local fans have adopted Canada's men's and women's teams throughout their preliminary play, with young supporters lining the railings for a high-five or picture with a player after each game.

Tracey Ferguson is now in her seventh Paralympic Games and has experience stretching back to 1992. With gold medals in Barcelona, Atlanta, and Sydney, Ferguson has witnessed this sport grow first-hand to a point of filling Paralympic stadiums.

"I can't give enough credit to the people of Rio and Brazil," she said. "They really got behind the Paralympics. The crowds have been loud and full and super supportive. This is a brilliant Games."

Head coach Bill Johnson was at those same Atlanta Paralympics in 1996 as a fan, supporting his brother Joey Johnson, who was making his debut with the men's team. He never imagined he'd see fans chasing athletes for pictures around Paralympic venues, and is optimistic that these Games, just as London's did, will further increase interest in the wheelchair game in Canada.

"I think it's the best sport there is," Johnson said.

The women's team will now wait until Friday to see where they play a classification game to determine the final tournament rankings.