On top of the eight local athletes the Ottawa Sports Pages is following in our Ottawa at the Paralympics coverage, there are also a number of Canadian Paralympic team members from the larger national capital region in Paris, and several more who have past Ottawa associations.
Anne Fergusson and Jolan Wong are among Canada’s top medal contenders at the 2024 Games as members of the Canadian women’s sitting volleyball team.
Fergusson is a 27-year-old Carleton Place resident who is midway through law school at the University of Ottawa, while Wong is a 34-year-old mother of two lives in Pembroke and serves as the team’s libero.
Both are three-time Paralympians and won a silver medal at the 2022 world championships. Canada is the top-ranked team entering the Paris Games.
Para judoka Priscilla Gagné splits her time between Ottawa and Montreal, where she trains at Judo Canada’s national training centre. Born in Granby, QC and raised in Sarnia, ON, Gagné’s journey to her first Paralympics in 2016 included time at Ottawa’s Takahashi Dojo. The three-time Paralympian was Canada’s Opening Ceremonies flag bearer at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
Toronto’s Jody Schloss will be competing in her third Paralympics in para equestrian. The 51-year-old was based in Ottawa prior to her Paralympic debut at London 2012.
Deep River’s Kyle Tremblay is set to make his Paralympic debut in para archery. The 33-year-old qualified for Paris 2024 by hitting the bullseye in a shoot-off to win the bronze medal at the Santiago 2023 Parapan Am Games.
Para swimmer Alec Elliott’s Canadian Paralympic Committee biography lists Ottawa as his residence. The Université Laval Rouge et Or swimmer from Kitchener noted in an interview with CBC Ottawa’s Robyn Bresnahan that his recently-married brother lives in Ottawa and will be in Paris to start his honeymoon at the Games with his new bride.
And University of Ottawa medical school grad Julia Hanes will be making her Paralympic debut in the F33 women’s shotput. The 29-year-old from Lasalle, ON is now a resident doctor in Vancouver and holds Canadian records in shotput, discus and javelin.
Several Ottawa coaches are also national team coaches in Paris, including Paul ApSimon and Joel Hazzan, who act as day-to-day coaches for Ottawa Paralympians Trinity Lowthian and Brianna Hennessy respectively.
With numerous national sports organizations based in Ottawa, including the CPC’s head office, there are also many members of the Canadian Paralympic team delegation who have Ottawa connections.
At the head is eight-time Paralympic medallist Karolina Wisniewska, who is serving as Canada’s co-chef de mission at the Paris Games. Wisniewska lived in Ottawa for a decade before recently moving to Montreal to the national manager for Game Plan (which helps Canada’s Olympians and Paralympians transition to post-athletic careers).
“The support staff at a Paralympic Games is so important,” Wisniewska said in a CPC media release along co-chef de mission Josh Vander Vies. “The Paralympic Games is the pinnacle of an athlete’s career, and we are proud of the way this team is able to focus on their competition and embrace the Games experience knowing they have a full team behind them to ensure they have everything they need.
“The entire support staff is filled with remarkable individuals who bring their own expertise, hard work, and passion, combining into one amazing Canadian Paralympic Team.”
– Dan Plouffe
From Aug. 28-Sept. 8, we’ll be providing daily Ottawa at the Paralympics coverage via our free email newsletter. Sign up below to follow along!
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