The summer of sports isn’t over yet.
World class competition continues in Paris, with the Paralympic Games kicking off on Aug. 28 and running until Sept. 8. North Shore fans can watch these talented athletes, including one competitor from West Vancouver and another from North Van, give it their all for Team Canada.
At 9 a.m. PT on Aug. 29, tune into the women’s wheelchair basketball preliminary round group A match against China, to catch North Vancouver’s Tara Llanes.
Llanes is returning for her second Paralympics, after making her debut at Tokyo 2020, where Canada finished fifth.
In 2023, Llanes helped Canada reach the finals to win silver at the Parapan American Games. And earlier this year, Canada earned its spot in at the Paris Games with an undefeated run at a Paralympics qualifier.
Wheelchair basketball will run through the week, with the women’s bronze and gold medal matches on Sept. 8.
Making his Paralympic cycling debut is Nathan Clement of West Vancouver. The paracyclist is set to compete in the T1-2 men’s individual time trial on Sept. 3 and the T1-2 men’s road race on Sept. 4. Race times have not yet been announced.
Clement was first a Paralympian at the Rio 2016 Games, where he competed as a swimmer.
Since then, he’s traded his trunks for a tricycle, and has proved to be a formidable racer on the road.
Clement became a world champion in 2023, when he won the time trail road event at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. He also won bronze there in the road race.
Clement told the Canadian Paralympic Committee that being selected for the Paris Games is an “honour beyond words.”
“Wearing the Maple Leaf at my second Games is incredibly humbling. I’m thrilled for this chance to give it for my community and country. Without my team in Vancouver and the support of the city, this dream would not be possible,” he said.
“I can’t wait to hear that starting siren and see my teammates achieve their goals and race on the biggest stage alongside them,” Clement said.
