Paralympic newsletter: Canada adds 2 golds, plus what to watch on the final weekend
Fournie, Massabie help Canada surpass its medal total from 2021
This is a web version of CBC Sports' daily newsletter, The Buzzer. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.
Teenage swimmer Sebastian Massabie won his first-ever gold and wheelchair racer Cody Fournie sprinted to his second title of the Paris Games on Friday as Canada surpassed its medal count from the previous Summer Paralympics.
Massabie, 19, captured his first Paralympic medal of any colour in style, smashing the world record to win the men's 50-metre freestyle S4 event. Fournie, a former member of the national wheelchair rugby team, completed a track sprint double by adding the men's 100m T51 title to his gold in the 200m. He set a new Paralympic record.
Those victories combined with discus thrower Jesse Zesseu's silver in his Paralympic debut brought Canada's tally to 23 medals — eight gold, seven silver and eight bronze. That's two more medals (and three more gold) than Canadians won in 2021 in Tokyo, with two days of competition still remaining before the closing ceremony on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
Here's the full medal table and here's a roundup of top Canadian performances on Day 9.
Canadian medal chances on the final weekend
Here are some top contenders, in chronological order:
Track and field: Austin Smeenk in the men's 800m T34 final Saturday at 4:11 a.m. ET. The world record holder goes for his second medal of the Games after taking bronze in the 100m. Smeenk will once again battle Thailand's Chaiwat Rattana, who beat him for the 100m gold and had the 800m world record before Smeenk broke it in June.
Canoe/kayak: Brianna Hennessy and Erica Scarff in the women's va'a single 200m events on Saturday. A va'a is a canoe-like boat with an outrigger for stability. Hennessy, who has won three straight silver medals in the VL2 category at the world championships, won her heat Friday to advance to the final on Saturday at 5:52 a.m. ET. Scarff, a silver medallist in the VL3 category at last year's worlds, placed third in her heat but can still reach the final on Saturday 6:36 a.m. ET via the semifinals earlier in the day.
Road cycling: Nathan Clement in the men's T1-2 road race Saturday at 6:45 a.m. ET. The former Paralympic swimmer goes for his second medal of the Games after taking silver in the time trial. He earned a silver and a bronze in the road race at the past two world championships. Alexandre Hayward could challenge for the podium in the men's C1-3 road race at 3:30 a.m. ET after placing fifth in the time trial and taking bronze in a track cycling event earlier in the Games.
Sitting volleyball: Canada vs. Brazil in the women's bronze game Saturday at 9 a.m. ET. After getting a silver at the most recent world championships, the Canadian women will try to win the country's first Paralympic medal in this sport. They face a Brazilian team that went 3-0 in the group stage, including a win over Canada.
Wheelchair basketball: Canada vs. Germany in the men's bronze game Saturday at 10 a.m. ET. The Canadians got trounced 80-43 by the reigning Paralympic and world champion United States in the semifinals. But they have a great chance to salvage a bronze against a German team they beat 68-52 in the group stage. It would be Canada's first Paralympic wheelchair basketball medal since 2012, when the men won their third gold in four Games. Patrick Anderson, who played a part in all of those title wins plus a silver in 2008, is still going strong at age 45. The Canadian co-flagbearer ranks fourth in the tournament in scoring with an average of 19.0 points per game and is third in rebounding with 9.4. The gold-medal game between the U.S. and Great Britain is at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Swimming: Shelby Newkirk in the women's 100m backstroke S6 final Saturday at 11:53 a.m. ET. The 28-year-old has a great chance to win her first Paralympic medal after capturing the past two world titles in this event. Newkirk came close in the 50m freestyle last week, placing fourth.
Swimming: Danielle Dorris and Tess Routliffe in the women's 50m butterfly S7 final Saturday at 12:36 p.m. ET. Dorris has dominated this event, winning Paralympic gold in 2021 and back-to-back world titles in 2022 and '23. Routliffe joined her on the podium at both world championships, taking bronze and silver. She's trying for her third medal of these Games.
Track and field: Nate Riech in the men's T38 1,500m final Saturday at 1:09 p.m. ET. Another gold medal could be in store for the middle-distance star, who is the reigning Paralympic and world champion and world record holder in this event. Riech's middle name is Graywolf — a nod to his father's Indigenous roots and now Riech's ferocious alter ego on the track. Read more about that here.
Track and field: Noah Vucsics in the men's long jump T20 final Saturday at 1:20 p.m. ET. The now 24-year-old broke out at last year's world championships, taking silver with a jump just five centimetres short of the winner's. Vucsics, who competes in a classification for athletes with an intellectual impairment, was adopted from Haiti as an infant by Canadian parents who quickly noticed he was quite the "jumping bean." Read more about him here.
Canoe/kayak: Brianna Hennessy in the women's kayak single 200m KL1 on Sunday. Along with her trio of silvers in the va'a, Hennessy has won a pair of bronze medals in this event at the world championships. After placing fourth in her heat Friday, she'll need to go through the semifinals on Sunday at 4 a.m. ET to reach the final at 5:25 a.m. ET. Also on Sunday, Canada's Mathieu St-Pierre will try to get through the semifinals in the men's va'a single 200m VL2 to reach the final at 5:49 a.m. ET.
Wheelchair basketball: Canada vs. China in the women's bronze game Sunday at 4:30 a.m. ET. Canada gave the reigning Paralympic and world champion Netherlands a real scare in Friday's semifinals before losing 72-61. Kady Dandeneau had another big game for Canada, putting up 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. To win their first Paralympic medal since taking bronze in 2004, the Canadian women will have to overcome a Chinese team that took silver at the 2021 Paralympics and the most recent world championship, and which beat Canada 70-65 in the group stage. The Netherlands will face the United States for gold at 7:45 a.m. ET on Sunday.
Before we wrap up for the week, I want to send out a big thank-you to ace CBC Sports researcher Jen Haynes. It would not have been possible to write these daily Paralympic previews without her fantastic work behind the scenes.
How to watch the Paralympics
Go here to choose the live events you want to watch and find replays and highlights. See the full streaming schedule here.
You can also catch the action in Paris via three daily live shows on the CBC TV network, CBC Gem and CBC Sports' Paris 2024 website and app. There's Petro-Canada Paris Prime, hosted by Scott Russell, at 2 p.m. ET; Toyota Paralympic Games Primetime, hosted by Russell and Stef Reid, at 8 p.m. in your local time zone; and Canadian Tire Paralympics Tonight, hosted by Devin Heroux and Roseline Filion, at 11:30 p.m. local.
Digital coverage will also include daily episodes of Rise and Stream, highlighting the must-see events and Canadians to follow, and Hot Takes, featuring interviews with athletes and analysts. Both shows are available on the Paris 2024 site and on CBC Sports' YouTube channel, Facebook, Instagram and X. Here's more on CBC's Paralympics coverage.
