Canadian Paralympians reach podium four times on Day 7 in Paris

PARIS — Canada enjoyed its strongest single day so far at the Paralympics on Wednesday.

There were four podium finishes, with two golds and two silvers on Day 7 to bump Canada's medal count to 17 and double the gold-medal number to four. Swimmer Nicholas Bennett and shot putter Greg Stewart earned gold, while road cyclist Nathan Clement and swimmer Reid Maxwell each took silver.

Bennett won the 200-metre individual medley two days after claiming gold in the 100 breaststroke. The 20-year-old from Parksville, B.C., is the first Canadian man to win multiple Paralympic gold medals at a single Games since Benoit Huot’s five in Athens in 2004.

"Seven one-hundredths off my world record, it's successful to say the least," said Bennett who set a Paralympic record of two minutes 6.05 seconds. "I was certainly a lot more comfortable racing today. I knew there was definitely a chance being so close to my world record.

"Having a sense of serenity definitely calms the emotions."

Maxwell, meanwhile, became the youngest Canadian swimmer to win a Paralympic medal since Aurelie Rivard's silver in 2012 when she was 16.

The 17-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., duelled with Alberto Amodeo in the 400-metre freestyle and touched the wall six-tenths of a second back of the Italian.

"It's all I ever dreamed of just to come here," Maxwell said. "Being able to medal here is a whole other thing. Honestly, that fight for the last 50m definitely made it worth it."

Stewart repeated as Paralympic champion in the men's F46 shot put at Stade de France. The 38-year-old from Kamloops, B.C., had retired after winning gold at the Tokyo Games but made a comeback to compete in Paris.

Now, he is looking ahead to the future.

“I am going to go on to L.A. (the 2028 Games), this one is just halfway," he said. “I wanted to come back and continue supporting the Paralympic movement, and support athletes any way we can.”

Road cyclist Clement is another medallist who had retired and returned to find glory in Paris.

The 29-year-old from West Vancouver, B.C., represented Canada in swimming at the 2016 Paralympics before switching to cycling and winning a silver medal in the men’s T1-2 individual time trial on Thursday. Although Clement retired from swimming in 2018, his competitive drive was reignited two years later.

"It means the world. It's something I'm still really trying to process right now, to be a Paralympic medallist," he said. "Along my journey as a stroke survivor at the age of two and a half, my parents were told very early on my chances at a normal life would not be possible.

"Organizations and centres like the B.C. Centre for Ability really gave me at four, five years old, the opportunity to play, have fun. Little did I know I was using my arms, using my legs, but more importantly for my parents, it gave them the hope of possibility."

Canada will be playing for bronze in mixed pairs BC4 boccia.

The Canadians started the day with a 6-0 quarterfinal win over Ukraine before losing 6-4 against Hong Kong in the semifinals later Wednesday.

Canada will play Thailand in the bronze-medal game on Thursday.

In women's wheelchair basketball, Canada defeated Germany 71-53 in the quarterfinals.

Kady Dandeneau paced Canada with 33 points, which will play in the semifinals on Friday.

Canada defeated Japan 1-0 in women's goalball in the fifth-place game. The Canadians fell 5-1 to Israel in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2024.