Tokyo Paralympics: B.C.’s Zachary Gingras takes home bronze

(NEWS 1130 – VANCOUVER) – Canadians continue to win medals at this year’s Paralympics in Tokyo, with 20-year-old runner Zachary Gingras taking home a bronze in the Men’s T38 400 Metres this week. As of Aug. 31, Canada has a total of 13 medals so far — including one gold, seven silvers, and five bronzes.

The win marked Gingras’ personal best, a goal he worked towards while studying computer science at the University of Victoria. At the 2019 world championships, he finished in eighth place and says it “means so much” to have improved substantially since then.

“It’s been a tough 18 months for everyone, so to come out here and perform the way I did is nice to show that all my hard work paid off,” said Gingras. “I just tried to run it like my heats. I went in relaxed and tried not to let the moment get to me too much. I got out fast and kept that same pace.” 

Silvers and bronzes are already going to athletes across categories 

Kate O’Brien from Calgary enjoyed her Paralympic debut, finishing in second in the women’s C4 500-metre time trial. Only a year after she competed in the Rio Olympics, she got into a catastrophic bike crash that left her unable to walk, but she persevered and thrived. And O’Brien is just one of the Canadians inspiring audiences at the 2021 Paralympics.

Marissa Papaconstantinou from Toronto finished in fifth place in the women’s T64 200 Metres but hit two new personal bests along the way. There were no wins for Canada in women’s wheelchair basketball after they lost to the U.S. in the quarterfinals. 

“I didn’t see us ending up losing. But I think nerves might have played a part in the start, and then it was just easy things that we just didn’t read properly like boxing out,” said Arinn Young (Legal, AB), Canada’s leading scorer in women’s wheelchair basketball with 11 points. 

“We weren’t taking our time on our layups; we were rushing a lot of our shots. In the end, that’s pretty much what cost us.”

In para-cycling, Keely Shaw from Midale, Saskatchewan, made the best score, narrowly missing third place, but Kate Obrien from Calgary, Alberta, did not finish.

Ross Wilson from Sherwood Park, AB came in seventh in the men’s C1 road time trial and Joey Desjardins from Hawkesbury, Ontario, came in 11th. Charles Moreau from Victoria, Quebec, placed 12th and Alex Hyndman from Morpeth, ON, placed 16th — both of them participated in the Paralympics for the first time.

From Quebec City, QC, Marie-Eve Croteau came in sixth, followed by Shelley Gautier from Niagara Falls, ON, in eighth in the womens’ T1-2 cycling event. In the women’s 100 Metre freestyle S7, Sabrina Duchesne from Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures in Q.C. came sixth, breaking her previous record.

“Being sixth in the world in the 100 Metre free is really amazing,” she said.

The men’s 200 Metre individual medley SM14 went well for Nicholas Bennett from Parksville, BC, after he advanced to the final and finished in eighth. While other Canadians swam, they did not advance to the finals.

Another medal went to Priscilla Gagne, an athlete with a visual impairment called retinitis pigmentosa, who took silver in the judo women’s 52-kilogram category. She also carried the Canadian flag at the opening ceremonies.