Canadian swimmer Aurélie Rivard wins bronze medal to kick off Paris Paralympics
Canadians drop wheelchair rugby opener 51-48 against rival United States
Canada's Aurélie Rivard started her Paris Paralympics on the podium.
The Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., swimmer won bronze in the women's S10 50-metre freestyle on Thursday at La Defense Arena in her first event of the Games.
It marks Rivard's 11th career podium appearance at the Paralympics, tying her with wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos for most among Canadians in Paris.
"I kind of blacked out there. It went by so quickly. I am a little disappointed by the time, but I can't really be disappointed about the result," Rivard said. "It was a great experience, the other two girls gave amazing performances. I have no control over them, and I am just happy to be able to step on the podium for the 11th time."
WATCH | Rivard wins 50 freestyle bronze:
China's Yi Shen won gold with a time of 27.10 seconds, breaking the world record of 27.37 Rivard set at the 2016 Paralympics.
American Christie Raleigh-Crossley snared silver at 27.38 seconds, while Rivard touched the wall in 27.62 seconds.
Rivard also won bronze in the 50 free in Tokyo, but she said this medal felt a little different.
"It's nowhere near the same scenario. Back in Tokyo, nothing went right. I didn't feel good about the race, I didn't feel good before or after. I did not have fun. Nothing went right in Tokyo," Rivard said.
"Now, it's not the same. I feel like I let go of the result, the outcome."
WATCH | Rivard speaks about winning bronze medal:
Women's sitting volleyball opens with win
Eyeing its first-ever Paralympic medal, Canada's women's sitting volleyball team started just the way it wanted.
Canada beat Slovenia in straight sets 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-12) on Thursday at North Paris Arena in its first match of pool play.
Captain Danielle Ellis and Jennifer Oakes paced the Canadians with 14 points apiece in the victory, while veteran Heidi Peters chipped in with 10.
The reigning world silver medallists, Canada placed fourth at Tokyo 2020 to improve on a seventh-place showing at Rio 2016.
The natural next step, then, is the podium.
Peters, the 29-year-old from Edmonton, said it's a different kind of pressure entering these Paralympics with medal expectations.
"I'm proud of us for closing that gap with the best teams in the world. It's really a privilege to be one of the best teams in the world. And that comes with a different sense of urgency and stress and nerves, but it's such a privilege for us, and we're really excited," Peters said.
Compounding that was a noisy North Paris Arena — a scene the Canadians weren't overly familiar with.
"We had a little bit of jitters in the beginning, seeing our family in the stands. Playing in front of a crowd for the first time in a bit is wild. But it really gave us energy, and we executed our game plan and got the nerves out and took care of business," Peters said.
The Canadians return to the court to face Brazil, who beat them for bronze in Tokyo, on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
"We know them really well, and we're really comfortable playing against them. It's always really fun and a bit of a grind. We're feeling, especially after beating Slovenia today, quite confident moving forward in the pool and playing Brazil."
Madell strong as Canada falls in wheelchair rugby
Canada's wheelchair rugby team fell 51-48 to the United States in its opening group-stage match of the Paris Paralympics on Thursday, despite a dominant performance from team veteran Zak Madell.
The Okotoks, Alta., native scored a game-high 31 tries in the 32-minute match at Champ-de-Mars Arena in front of a loud crowd that included plenty of Canada fans.
The Canadians kept pace with the Americans for most of the match but were unable to overcome the relentless offensive attack and balanced scoring, narrowly trailing after each quarter.
Chuck Aoki led the U.S. with 21 tries, while Josh Wheeler also reached double digits in the opening Group A match with 11.
"They're a strong team. They've got a great key defence," Madell said. "We maybe didn't play our cleanest game. They played a pretty clean game and came [out] on top."
WATCH l Madell is trying to create a Canadian wheelchair rugby legacy in Paris:
The U.S. took control early, but Canada began to find its offensive rhythm in the final minutes of the first quarter as Madell repeatedly powered his way over the goal line. Madell then fed Cody Caldwell for a try in the final seconds to make it a two-point game entering the second frame at 14-12.
Madell tied the match at 24 apiece with 1:26 remaining in the second with his 18th try of the match, but the Americans showed no signs of slowing down. Mason Symons quickly put the U.S. back on top and Aoki swatted away a Madell pass with seconds left to preserve the one-point lead entering the third quarter.
Madell averaged a try per minute over the first three quarters and helped keep the game within reach down the stretch. He made it a three-point game at 50-47 with less than 40 seconds left to go, but Symons responded with another try.
Caldwell added to the Canadian scoring with 9.1 seconds left as the Americans held on for the win.
"It feels great. Canada's a really strong side, and we knew they were gonna bring everything today, and they certainly did, but we knew we really wanted to get a pull on the top of this one," Aoki said. "So I feel great about it. Feel really good about the way the team played."
WATCH l Full coverage of Canada's opening match vs. United States:
Canada is searching for its first-ever Paralympic gold medal in the sport. The national team played for a medal in the first six editions of the Paralympic tournament — winning three silvers and one bronze — but it failed to reach the semifinals in 2021 and hasn't reached the final since 2012.
The Canadians will next face Germany on Friday at 11:30 a.m. ET before taking on Tokyo bronze medallist Japan on Saturday at the same time.
"I think we take some of the stuff that we can learn from this game, and we just move on, stick to our game plan against Germany, protect the ball, and I think we'll be good," said longtime national team player Trevor Hirschfield.
Defending Paralympic champion Great Britain opened the tournament with a 58-55 win over Australia in Group B action.
Canada falls in wheelchair basketball
Meanwhile, the Canadian women's wheelchair basketball team dropped a close opening match 70-65 against China.
Tied at 55 entering the fourth quarter, China pulled away with an 8-0 run and Canada was never able to recover.
Kady Dandeneau of Pender Island, B.C., led Canadian with 28 points, while Rosie Lalonde was the only other player in double-figures at 18 points.
Xuemei Zhang paced China with 30 points.
"Our biggest thing was we fell defensively. Xuemei Zhang lit us up. We have to take care of her. It's little things like that when you go against the top teams. If you slip up, they're going to make you pay — and they did," Dandeneau said.
The Canadians are back in action on Saturday at 4:30 a.m. ET against Great Britain.
Other Canadian results:
- Para swimmer Shelby Newkirk finished fourth in the S6 50m free final.
- Emma Reinke's six-goal performance led Canada's goalball team to a 10-0 win over host France in its Pool D opener.
- Alison Levine opened the boccia tournament with one win and one loss, beating win Hanaa Elfar of Egypt 4-3 before dropping a 3-2 decision against Malaysia's Noor Asuzaimey Mat Salim.
- Fellow boccia players Danick Allard lost 6-2 to Japan's Hirose Takayuki and Lance Cryderman lost 7-0 to Portugal's Andre Ramos.
With files from The Canadian Press
