49 Canadians selected to compete at Paralympics in Beijing
17-time medallist Brian McKeever to participate in his 6th Paralympics
When Team Canada competes at the Paralympics next month, it will do so with an incredibly diverse group of athletes.
The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) on Sunday officially unveiled the names of the 49 athletes, including four guides, who will make up Canada's Paralympic team that will travel to Beijing for the Games which run from March 4-13.
The Canadian team boasts a wealth of experience, featuring 25 Paralympic medallists, and 30 athletes who took part in Pyeongchang in 2018, including wheelchair curler Dennis Thiessen, a two-time Paralympian who is the oldest team member at age 60.
The Canadian Paralympic team also features 19 first-time Paralympians, most notably Para alpine skier Logan Leach, who at age 19 is the youngest member of the team. Incredibly, nine provinces and territories are represented on Canada's Paralympic team, with Ontario having the most athletes (21).
"That might be one of the best things to highlight about this squad going in right now. It's a healthy blend of experience and youth. … It's this really beautiful mix of motivation through mentorship. There's so much motivation that comes from the veteran athletes that are really bringing up the younger athletes coming up behind them that are going to create this really strong and sustained future for Canada's Paralympic movement," Dueck told CBC Sports.
Canada will compete in all five winter sports in Beijing: Para ice hockey (17 athletes), Para nordic skiing — including biathlon and cross country (12), Para alpine skiing (11), wheelchair curling (five), and Para snowboard (four).
Of the 49 athletes, none are more decorated than Para nordic skier Brian McKeever, a 42-year-old native of Calgary. McKeever is Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian with 17 medals, including 13 gold, and Beijing will mark his sixth Paralympic appearance.
"He is an incredible leader, he is an incredible spokesperson, and he is a masterful athlete that pays attention to every single detail and is hyper competitive — and at the same time very supportive of his teammates. I really enjoy being in the nordic venues and watching him compete," admitted Dueck, a former Para alpine skier who won three medals at the Paralympics from 2010 to 2014.
Thiessen oldest member of Team Canada at age 60
Dueck has high hopes for Canada's Para curling team, which includes Thiessen, who is a member of the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame, and won silver in Sochi in 2014 and bronze in Pyeongchang in 2018.
"Canada has been a heavyweight since 2006 and the sport's inception, and has an excellent track record and some of the world's top-ranked curlers. I feel pretty confident in them," Dueck said.
Canada's chef de mission is particularly excited to watch the Para snowboarders in action, and feels the country has never had this strong of a side.
"The team has proven itself over the last year, including at the world championships where Alex Massie, Tyler Turner and Lisa DeJong were all either on the podium, or crowned world champions… So, although the team is young, they are adapting and adjusting to the current landscape really well, and competing not just with the best, but proving they are among the best," Dueck offered.
Canada's Para hockey team has won medals at five of the last seven Paralympcs, but last reached the top of the podium in 2006 in Turin. Paralympic veterans Billy Bridges, Greg Westlake and Adam Dixon are returning, making their sixth, fifth and fourth appearances, respectively. Dueck believes this team has the potential to end Canada's gold-medal drought.
"We have a strong crew. We've been slowly working our way up the ladder with a bronze in Sochi and silver in Pyeongchang, and continue to go back and forth with our perennial rivals the us. When I watch the team from afar and I talk to the athletes, it's clear they feel they have a head full of steam and are confident," Dueck said.
The Para alpine skiing team will be missing Kurt Oatway, a gold medallist at PyeongChang 2018, who crashed and suffered multiple injuries during the World Para Snow Sports Championship in Norway last month.
At that same event, Toronto's Katie Combaluzier capped an impressive performance in her first major competition to win a silver medal in the women's sitting super combined event in Lillehammer. Beijing will be Combaluzier's Paralympic debut, which comes after she made a big impact in her first season in international Para alpine skiing.
"Katie has shown up just this season and shown she has all the skills to compete against the best in the world right now, and she is just so fun and exciting to watch," Dueck said.
Having competed and won medals at the 2010 and 2014 Paralympics, Dueck understands the pressure that first-time athletes might feel in Beijing. His best advice to them is to heed the words of former Canadian Olympian Clara Hughes, who won six medals over the course of the 1996 Summer Olympics and three Winter Olympics from 2002 to 2010.
"They should compete with an open heart and an open mind. Really take in the whole experience and enjoy the process. These athletes have been training for years, so just enjoy it and respect the process that they've been working on, and know that they've done the work and Beijing is the reward for their effort…. Be present to the opportunity and perform in the moment," Dueck offered.
WATCH | Toronto's Combaluzier skis to silver at World Para Snow Sports Championship:
