After checking out the site of my try tri to see if he could make it to watch me, my brother saw that there was a Du of swimming and cycling at the event and told me had he known that, he would have trained. Regardless, he is going to give it a go next year. The first step for him was quitting smoking. I really hope he can stay committed. He's quit before. His decision to train has also been a nice motivation for me. Nothing like a little sibling rivalry! I'm glad that I have the upper hand right now. I'm sure he's going to catch up to me though (hopefully he's not reading this, it will make him smug).
Dustin Hodgson plays paralympic soccer for Team Canada. He's been playing since he was 6 and his Cerebral Palsy doesn't hold him back. In fact, his nickname is The Turbo, for his speed. He is dedicated to his sport, training 7 days a week. Rtbot.net explains: The sport is played with modified FIFA rules. Among the modifications are a reduced field of play, a reduction in the number of players, elimination of the offside rule, and permission for one-handed throw-ins.
Meaghan Benfeito is the second half of the 10m synchronized divers. This is her second time heading to the games and will also be competing in the individual event. She started because of that her now teammates Emilie Heymans and Alexander Despatie. She hails from Montreal and can be found on twitter @megbenfeito.
I did a cycle then swim it went well, I was motivated for the try tri. Cycling is just my nemesis, I know that. I don't know how to get along better with it. The compromise is that it's sandwiched in between two things I quite enjoy. I swam at Gulliver's lake and did a ride down Safari Road. Like I said, it went well. Even MORE motivating however, was the following day when I was on twitter and the amazing Simon Whitfield, our flag bearer and all-round inspiration, posted a pic on twitter saying that he'd just done his swim AT GULLIVER'S. I was totally jazzed and off by one measly day to swimming in the same lake as an Olympian and my hero.
Antoine Valois-Fortier is a competitor for team Canada in Judo. He did not place last year in the worlds. He missed all of 2009 in competition due to injury, trained hard and won the national championship the next year. This will be his first time heading to the Olympics. His parents signed him up for judo to channel his energy. His now coach and Olympic Silver medalist, Nicholas Gill, is an inspiration to him. He's ranked 21st heading into the Olympics.
Roseline Filion of Laval Quebec is competing in the 10m synchronized diving event as well as the individual event. Always bubbly she's earned the nickname Miss Smile. She has won several medals with her partner in the synchro event. She was inspired to start diving after watching Annie Pelletier win a bronze medal in Atlanta. This will be her second time heading to the games with a 7th place finish from the last Games under her belt. You can follow her on Twitter: @Roselinefilion
Austin Hinchey is a paralympic athlete representing Canada in sitting volleyball. His nickname is The Conductor for his leadership qualities. He's an amazing athlete and the youngest captain in the sport. He's a perpetual optimist who trains 5 days a week for at least two hours a day. He also competes for UBC as an able-bodied athlete.
Tonya Verbeek is a female wrestler. Her name may sound familiar as this is not her first time Heading to the Olympics. It is, in fact, her third time competing. Her name may also sound familiar because she's won, oh you know, just 2 Olympic medals. In 2004 she won a silver and 2008 a bronze. She's a definite medal contender this time around as well.
Kyle Jones is heading to the Olympics for the first time to compete in the Triathlon. He had a great year last year winning several golds in various events. He was born in the Hammer and trains in Victoria. He followed in his dad's footsteps as he was also a triathlete. He's the youngest male on the tri team being 27.
Tera Van Beilen is a contender at the games doing 100m and 200m breaststroke. She comes from an athletic family with an uncle who played in the NHL and another who plays in the NFL. She's currently studying and training at UBC. You can find her on twitter @tervb
Reid Coolsaet placed third in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in order to qualify for the Olympic Marathon. The Canadian record time for marathon has held strong for 36 years. The first time he ran a marathon he won the national championship. His website is reidcoolsaet.com and Twitter handle is @reidcoolsaet. I started reading his blog and really enjoyed it. I recommend it, especially for runners. Oh! I also forgot to mention- he's from Hamilton.
Sarah Hunter is a wheelchair tennis player aptly nicknamed the hunter. Her background as explained on paralympic.ca is impressive "A hockey injury left her disabled in 1997. Discovered tennis and fell in love with the sport. Headed to Florida for the first tournament of her career. She then became the first woman to compete at the pro men’s level in the Quad Division. Now the top-ranked player in Canada and 5th in the world".
I'm definitely going to be looking forward to see how she fares at the games. Also on paralympic.ca her training regime: "Four to five days on the court every week. Works out three times a week. Swims twice a week. Sees a sports psychologist to make sure her mental game is as sharp as her physical one." A really great article about Sarah can be found here: http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20070924_109277_109277
Pierre Mainville is a paralympic wheelchair fencer known for being a perfectionist. He's a paraplegic as a result of being shot by a sniper. In less than 4 years he's become one of the world's best. He's earned a host of medals, most recently at last years panam games. He devotes a lot of time to his training- 4-6 hours 5 days a week, plus weight training. He is also the first Canadian to ever medal in wheelchair fencing.
Shona Thorburn is a member of the Canadian women's basketball team. She played 2 years in the WNBA and is now playing in Spain. This is going to be her first Olympic appearance after Canada beat Japan to earn a berth in the Games. She was born in England but is a local girl, having graduated from Westdale Secondary here in Hamilton. The last time Canada had a women's basketball team at the Olympics was in 2000.
(Andrew) Scott Dickens is a breaststroker...(get your mind outta the gutter!) heading to his second Olympics. He's from nearby Burlington and is also married to a swimmer. He's coming off a recent success at the Canada Cup nearly beating his personal best time.
Melissa Tancredi is a Soccer player from Ancaster. We've got 2 locals today, here folks. She's a forward on Team Canada. She's also a Right To Play Ambassador. Her Twitter is @Meltancredi14
Douglas Csima is another member of the men's 8 rowing team. This is his first time attending the Olympics and he is familiar with international competition having medalled in the worlds in 2009 and 2011. He took up rowing after finding out McMaster didn't have a hockey team. He's also a RN and Masters student at The UVic.His twitter handle is @dougcsima.
From a rookie to a veteran in today's post. Diane Roy has been competing in wheelchair racing since 1992 after an ATV accident left her without feeling in her legs. She's earned the nickname the Warhorse. In 2008 she won a silver and 2 bronze. She uses a very specifically designed wheelchair built just for her. She is incredibly committed to her sport training twice a day 6 days a week and in Florida in the winter months. Heading into these Games she's had to overcome what her website describes as a "Gold medal disappointment: In September 2008, the
Paralympic Games were held in Beijing, China. During this competition, Diane
suffered an unimaginable disappointment, the likes of which had never been seen
before in competition. In the 5000 m wheelchair final, Diane won the gold medal…
only to lose it due to an appeal submitted by 3 countries’ associations after a
terrible collision that involved several of the racers.
The appeal
committee’s ultimate decision was to invalidate the results of the original
final and set a second final race for several days later; this was on top of
Diane’s already jam-packed race schedule, not to mention how it affected her
psychological preparation.
The race should never have been re-scheduled,
since collisions and falls in wheelchair racing are not uncommon. Final races
are never re-run, in any sport.
But the real problem with the appeal
decision was that it occurred only after the medal ceremony had taken place.
There appears to have been a miscommunication between the appeal committee and
the medal ceremony committee.
So, after having won the race before a
crowd of 90,000 spectators (winning her first gold medal ever at a Paralympic
Games), risen to the highest step of the podium, received her medal and bouquet
and heard her national anthem played, Diane learned just a few minutes later
that the race would be held again!
Diane went from a moment of glory to
one of profound disappointment in an instant; this was an incredible injustice
and a cruel gesture. The race went ahead a second time and Diane finished in the
second-place position, just one one-hundredth of a second away from the gold
medal…" (dianeroy.com). Diane is also an inductee into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame.
Jay Milley aka the Iceman is a Paralympic cyclist. He's a quadruple amputee and also skis, snowboards, hikes, and runs (he does more sports than me) and trains 6 days a week. Holy inspirational! Paralympic.ca offers an explanation of how he accommodates while cycling he "has false legs that clip onto his bike pedals. One leg is longer than the other, so he uses a custom-built crank arm to compensate. Has a prosthetic arm on his left. To make up for his lack of fingers, which prohibits him from using normal brakes, he has a special push back bar at the rear of his seat –when he wants to stop, he simply leans back.". After winning a gold at a paralympic event in Australia last year he is a promising contender.
Sinead Russell is the sister of Colin who I'd previously written about. She's competing in the 100m backstroke.This is her first trip to the Big Show. Like her brother she had to persevere and cope with her father's decisions.
Thestar.com provides an explanation of his history:
"Cecil Russell has twice been banned from coaching for life for his involvement in illegal steroid and ecstasy rings. At the 1997 murder trial of one of his steroid trafficking associates, Russell admitted helping burn and dispose of the victim’s butchered body in a corn silo beside his Oshawa home.
But Russell kept coaching despite the ban, getting his Oakville Dolphins Swim Club suspended and its prime pool time yanked by the township. With Dad watching from the stands here at the 1976 Olympic pool Wednesday night, his daughter was swimming for the Toronto Blue Waves, an unheralded club out of High Park."
Although young, she's making a splash (see what I did there?) and has met with success swimming various distances. She's still young and has a long career ahead of her. To calm any nerves before races, Sinead likes to read or cook and enjoys running, drawing and instrumental music.
Colin Russell is making his second trip to the Olympics for swimming as a member of the 4x100m relay. He comes from a family of competitive swimmers. In fact, his sister is also competing at the Games. Prior to the last Games he has overcame shoulder surgery and the psychological issues surrounding his father's ban from swimming due to drug trafficking. He persevered and will be making his way to London this year.
Diana Matheson is a soccer player that hails from Oakville. She is also making her second appearance at the Olympics. Coming of a recent win over the team from New Zealand team Canada will be heading to the Games to start the tournament on July 25. She attended Princeton where she was voted Female athlete of the year in 2008. She's a small but powerful contender. At 5 foot even she's known for her speed. She also supports the charity Because I Am A Girl.
Dylan Wykes is an Olympic first timer and one of the 3 men representing Canada as a marathoner. He has posted Canada's 2nd fastest marathon time. Dylan grew up in Kingston and competed in track throughout high school. He can be followed on twitter: @DylanWykes and his website is http://time-to-run.com/dylanwykes/.
Julia Wilkinson is a Canadian swimmer. She competed in 2008 finishing 7th in 2 events. Julia also has connections to the winter Olympics, she carried the 2010 torch through part of her hometown of Stratford. She even finds time to blog for CBC.ca. Her website is: http://www.juliawilkinson.com/ and she can be followed on twitter: @juliah2o
Well there's HUGE news coming out of the Canadian Olympic Committee camp today. With just 15 days to go until the Opening ceremonies the announcement has been made: Simon Whitfield has been named the flag bearer for the opening ceremonies. A great selection in a field of amazing athletes. He's a personal inspiration so I am very very happy for him! Article: http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/story/2012/07/12/sp-olympics-flag-bearer-canada.html
Milos Raonic is a tennis player representing Canada at the Olympic games. He's only 21 and is ranked 21st in the world. This is the top ranking of any Canadian single male. Ever.
Milos is known for his powerful and accurate serve.He was considered a Dark Horse this year at Wimbeldon, where last year he injured himself and required surgery. The tennis world was abuzz about him. A positive sign heading into what will be his first Olympic appearance.
He moved to Canada from Montenegro at the age of 3. He's also passionate about sport and country, just as an Olympian should be: "In an interview after his third round win at the 2011 Australian Open it was questioned if he would follow in the footsteps of Greg Rusedski, the last great Canadian tennis player who ended up playing for his second nationality in Great Britain. When asked if he would continue to play for Canada he replied "Yes".Raonic has shown a passion for Canada and the game of tennis in the country. This was displayed in an October, 2010 interview where he said of the matter that "I want to make a singles career, I enjoy it more and I want to make a difference in Canada with it. I feel if I were to achieve my goals it could make a great difference to the growth of tennis in Canada and help to produce more top players in the future" (Wikipedia). You can follow him on Twitter: @milosraonic and his website is: milosraonic.ca/blog/
Victoria Nolan is a paralympic rower. She's nicknamed the metronome for her ability to synchronize with her other rowers. She was diagnosed with an eye disease at 18 and lost all but 3% of her vision after the birth of her 2nd child. In order to overcome depression she began adaptive rowing. She trains 6 days a week listening to the seats of her teammates in order to time her strokes. She's also an activist , challenging and informing people of guide dog bylaws and ability. Victoria is also a teacher who is constantly on the go and fits work outs into her lunch breaks. Amazing.
Adam Dukovich aka Deadeye is one of the world's top 5 athletes in bocccia. He uses video, physio therapy and psychological training to compensate for his Cerebral Palsy. He is incredibly committed to his sport, training 30 hours a week. He reports that he would spend his last $20 on beer. A true Canadian boy. Care of Wikipedia: "The aim of the game is to throw leather balls - coloured red or blue (which side gets which is determined by a coin toss) - as close as they can to a white target ball, or jack. The jack is thrown first, then the first two regular balls are played, (first, the player who threw the jack then the opposing side), after which, the side furthest away from the jack goes next in an attempt to either get closer to the jack or knock the opposition's ball out of the way."
Phylicia, front and center.
Phylicia George is a member of the Athletics team who specialized in the 100m hurdles. At the World Championships in South Korea last year she placed 7th. Again a description of the sport from Wikipedia, "The 100 m hurdles are an Olympictrack and field athletics discipline run by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race ten hurdles of a height of 83.8 cm (2 feet 9 inches) are placed evenly spaced along a straight course of 100 metres. They are positioned so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner. Fallen hurdles don't count against runners so long as they don't run into them on purpose. Like the 100 metre sprint the 100 m hurdles is started out of the blocks."
Simon Whitfield is one of my favourite athletes. I distinctly remember him winning that gold medal when triathlon became an Olympic event and marvelling at the man's athletic ability. He won this event regardless of the fact that he was in a crash during the race. This will be his fourth trip to the games having added a silver to his total in Beijing. This time around he had a specific training schedule so that he peaks during the Games. “My goal was always to be the best in the world at something,” says Whitfield (simonwhitfield.com). It's so amazing to be that he accomplished that. Recently, he's worried his supporters because he withdrew from the Edmonton World cup event due to a hamstring injury. He reports that it was merely a precaution. Better safe than sorry, I guess, this close to the Big Show. Here's a great article about his silver medal win: http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/beijing-games/story.html?id=734442 His website is simonwhitfield.com and Twitter handle @simonwhitfield.
Nikkita Holder is going to represent Canada doing the 100m hurdles at The Games. This 25 year old woman is currently ranked 8th in the world. She's heading to London with her fiance, Justyn Warner, who's also been named to the team.
We're a couple days into the the last 3 weeks before the big day.
Today's male athlete is Jason Burnett who will be representing Canada in trampoline and is expected to medal having won silver in Bejing and the record for most difficult routine. With these accomplishments his motto "Go big or go home" is fitting. In 2010 he broke his fibula and has recovered and continues to set records. He's also a student at U of T and enjoys parkour (as do I...as a spectator, not participant). Jason can be found on Twitter @jasonburnett_ and his website is jasonburnett.ca
Emilie Heymans is a diver. She partners with previously profiled Jennifer Abel in the 3 m synchro event and competes in the 3m individual event. This is her 4th Games, winning silver in 2000 and bronze in 2004 in the synchro event and in 2008 won her first individual medal, a silver. Emilie was born in Belgium, and raised close to Montreal. She began diving at 11 and before that was a gymnast. Following these Games she is going to enter the fashion industry. She can be found on Twitter at @eheymans and her website is emilieheymans.com/en/
Ian Millar is part of the Canadian equestrian team and has been on 9 other occasions. With his 10th appearance at the 2012 games he will have set the record for attending the most Games. He was once a stockbroker and has become one of Canada's most decorated athletes, earning the name Captain Canada. Millar became a member of the order of Canada in 1986. 2008 was an exciting Games for Millar On 18 August, at the age of 61, Millar anchored his team to a first-place standing. Riding mount In Style, he came through in the clutch with a perfect run to lead the Canadian team into a jump-off for gold with the United States. In the team equestrian gold-medal jump-off, Canada won the silver medal, Millar's first Olympic medal. About his spot on the 2012 team he said. “I am extremely excited to have been chosen to represent Canada at my 10th Olympic Games. I am very proud of the Team that has been chosen by Equine Canada and Jump Canada to represent Show Jumping at this year’s Olympic Games in London. I believe we will do Canada proud” (olympic.ca). He is also a contender to carry the flag for Team Canada at the Opening Ceremonies. His website is:
Michelle Stilwell is a paralympic wheelchair racer. Her nickname is The Mastermind. At the age of 17 Michelle was rendered quadriplegic after falling from a friends back while piggyback riding. She started her athletic career playing wheelchair basketball and went to Sydney in 2000 as part of the team. She had then taken up athletics. During races she doesn't pay attention to her competitors keeping focused on technique. For health she follows a raw/vegan diet. Her website can be found at: http://mikeystilwell.com/ and you can follow her on Twitter at @mikeystilwell
Mario Caron, Goalkeeper: Goalball. Nicknamed: The Heat. Why? The Heat - Can hurl a ball at 60 kilometres an hour with complete precision (my friends who play dodgeball, perhaps you should try recruiting him). He's visually impaired but that didn't stop him from participating in adaptive sports. This is his 7th Games. He does 2 gays of goalball, 2 days physical, and 2 days cardio. Plus a little yoga (that's what I like to hear).
You may be wondering what Goalball is and here's an explanation from canadianblindsports.ca:
Goalball is a
fast-paced, Paralympic sport played by athletes who have a visual impairment or
are blind. Played three-on-three, on a volley-ball size court, players track the
ball by sound as they use their bodies to defend blistering shots upwards of 80
kilometers per hour.
Clara Hughes, Cyclist with the thousand watt smiles and definitely one of my personal favourite athletes. This is Clara's sixth Olympic appearance. You may be thinking wait, what? She doesn't look that old. She's not been attending the Olympics since she was a toddler but, she is a dual athlete She competes in the winter as a speed skater. Clara's only the 4th athlete to ever win medals at both summer and winter games and she's the ONLY one to have won multiple medals at both. She, along with Cindy Klassen is the most decorated Olympic athlete this country has to offer. It does my heart proud knowing that our two best athletes are women. Clara's website is: http://clara-hughes.com/ where I grabbed the following from:
"After winning gold in 2006, Clara donated $10,000 of her personal savings to the Right to Play programs. This donation challenged Canadians to support the cause, raising over half a million dollars for the international humanitarian organization that uses sport for development. In 2010, she donated her $10,000 medal bonus to the Vancouver inner city school program, ‘Take a Hike’, which uses adventure based learning to give youth at risk a better direction in life.
She is the National Spokesperson for Bell Canada’s Mental Health initiative and the ‘Let’s Talk’ campaign. By sharing past struggles with depression, Clara has helped break down the stigma associated with mental illness.
She is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Member of the Order of Manitoba, holds honorary doctorates from various Canadian Universities and has been awarded the International Olympic Committee’s prestigious ‘Sport and the Community’ award for her commitment to promoting the values of sport and play around the world. Clara also has a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.
Clara was given the great honor of being the Canadian Flag Bearer for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, proudly leading the home team to its historic medal winning performance."
She's just an all 'round amazing person, never mind athlete. I have to admit I got a little emotional doing up this post. She's just so gosh darned inspiring!
In other news which ties in nicely to Clara- I cycled to work for the first time ever yesterday. It took just about as long as the bus. I just ended up getting there a heck of a lot sweatier than I would have via other means. It was ok. As we all know cycling is a struggle for me. The weather is not helping and I think at this point that I will barely finish that try tri, if the weather stays like this. I am finding it difficult to train. I think it important to note: I only cycled TO work. I took the bus back up the mountain, where a man asked me where I got my helmet from. My fancy dancey Yakkay helmet. So I told him it was a specialty store in Toronto and told him to google the brand. I shall make it easier for you guys: http://www.yakkay.com/Webshop/23-Paris-Herringbone/. That's the helmet that I have. I will not be wearing it during my race, I may not do the greatest at playing the part but I'm gonna have to at least LOOK it. They've got all kinds of other great, stylish covers if you browse around the site more.
Dylan Armstrong is participating in his second Olympics for Shot Put as part of our Athletics contingent. In his last games, he came in a respectable 4th. Losing by 1 cm. Heartbreaking right? He came back winning a plethora of medals in 2010 and 2011. He's currently ranked 7th in the world and could potentially be Canada's first medal for men in Athletics since 1996 and the men's 4x100 relay (it was that long ago?!). It would be the first throwing medal ever for Canada and this Games is going to see Canada's largest throwing team ever in London. His coach and he don't speak the same language so train using a lot of hand signals. He hails from Kamloops, a town not to far from where I used to live in Kelowna. Dylan's on Twitter: @Dylan_Armstrong (although he's only ever posted twice...)
Jennifer Abel is an Olympic Diver who has consistently stood on the podium over the past couple of years. She will be competing in the 3m and 3 m synchro events. Her partner in the syncho even is Emilie Heymans. Jennifer is from Laval, Quebec. She was only 16 when she appeared at the Olympics in Bejing where she finished 11th. Her Twitter handle is: @jennabel91
Eric Lamaze is a member of the Equestrian team as a show jumper. A contentious member of our Olympic team. He has twice tested positive for drugs meaning withdrawn Olympic bids. He kicked his addiction and won a gold medal individually in 2008 and silver in the team event. Eric's horse, Hickstead (who he rode to gold on), tragically died this past November during competition. This horse was described as small in stature huge in heart. If interested here's a link to the incredibly sad event (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoL5b-KJUvo). Recently Eric has said,
“The personal setback was something we put behind us a long time ago, but the setback last year was close to home in a sense of the relationship you have with a horse like Hickstead.For me, it a tragedy that was harder to deal with because it’s sort of like losing a family member. It’s not a racket and your string broke.” (thestar.com). He also contemplated giving up the sport after Since then Lamaze had been riding 7 different horses, narrowed it down to 2 for Spruce Meadows last week and chose Verdi, a horse with little international experience. He is currently ranked third in the world.
Here's a brief history of the event via EquineCanada.ca:
What is Showjumping?
Show jumping emerged from the sport of fox hunting. As an ever-increasing amount of England’s countryside became partitioned by fences beginning in the late Eighteenth Century, both hunter and horse required skills necessary to keep chase, despite the presence of these new barricades.
The discipline started to resemble what we know as show jumping today in the Nineteenth Century as competitions moved from cross-country expanses to smaller, enclosed venues where spectators could better enjoy the action.
The second, modern Olympic games (Paris, 1900) featured many of the individual elements of the contemporary discipline in the equestrian long and high jump, but it was not until the 1912 Games that genuine show jumping became a recognized event.
As someone who used to horseback ride recreationally, I know how difficult a sport equestrian it is. Your forge a real relationship with your horse. It is one of the most exciting sports to watch, when you see that hoof hit the rail and hold your breath hoping against hope that it will just rock in the cup and not fall to the ground in an echoing clatter only to see it settle again and you breathe your sigh of relief it is like no other. You cheer for a team knowing that rider and horse have to be completely in sync and that there's a level of trust for rider and animal that is unparalleled. Additionally, I was at the Royal Winter Fair just a couple of days after Hickstead's death and Eric rode finishing the course to a standing ovation from the crowd. I was pretty emotional, I don't know how he held it together. I will be looking forward to watching our team compete and holding my breath with the rest of the country before each jump.
Robbi Weldon is a Paralympic cycler. She has a crazy amount of endurance and strength which has garnered her the nickname 'Thunder'. "At age 15 was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a macular degeneration affecting central vision. Now has six percent of her sight. Started competitive tandem cycling just two years ago. A few months later, she won gold and silver at the 2010 World Championships in Baie-Comeau, Québec" (paralympic.ca). In order to compete, she and her tandem rider must pedal in complete synchronicity and share the power load in order to move forward. Robbi is the first athlete that I've profiled who is a duo Olympian cycling in the summer games and skiing in the winter. She trains aproximately seven to eight hundred hours a year. The Star wrote a great article about her and can be found here: http://www.thestar.com/sports/london2012/cycling/article/1174477--paralympic-powerhouse-robbi-weldon-looks-to-london. Her site can be found at: http://robbiweldon.ca/index.php.
Paul Tingley is a paralympic athlete that has earned the nickname 'The Gambler' for the amount of risks he takes in his sport. He's one of the top competitors in the world, even among able bodied sailers. In Paul's own words this is how he became involved in the sport "Until 1994, skiing was my sport. I loved the feel of the wind on my face as I flew down the slopes. Then one night skiing changed my life. I hit a jump with too much speed. The resulting fall broke my back, causing a permanent spinal cord injury.
I realized that my mobility would forever be linked to a wheelchair. My life was never going to be the same. At the time, I was very depressed. When I started my rehabilitation, I found I had to learn to do many routine things all over again. As I mastered everyday tasks, I found myself yearning for a more active lifestyle.
My physiotherapist talked to me about sailing for disabled persons. Once I tried it I was hooked. However, I had much to learn about sailing. So I trained 20 hours a week and attended numerous regattas. Thankfully, I had lots of support. As a novice sailor and athlete I was able to access the specialized equipment, expert coaches and sports associations I needed to help me on my way" (paralympicfoundation.ca). He's a Halifax boy. He won bronze in 200 and gold in 2008. So we can hope for success from Paul at these Games. His boat is outfitted with a joystick and foot control levers. His method to success is imitating his competitors decisions, figuring othe geometry of his sails and then with all this knowledge, he follows his gut.
Mary Spencer is a boxer. She's going to be representing Canada in this debut sport. I am incredibly excited to watch her in action. Mary have a proven record of winning (even more than Charlie Sheen). She's a 3 time World Champ. As of July 26, 2011, her amateur record is 115 wins, 9 losses. "She has been named ‘one to watch’ for The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity’s Most Influential Women list and is a Member of Motivate Canada’s GEN 7 Aboriginal role model initiative. She was also chosen by Proctor and Gamble as a CoverGirl for 2012. (Olympic.ca)" Follow this inspiration woman on Twitter at @Canadianboxer or her website: maryspencer.ca
Dustin Hodgson plays paralympic soccer for Team Canada. He's been playing since he was 6 and his Cerebral Palsy doesn't hold him back. In fact, his nickname is The Turbo, for his speed. He is dedicated to his sport, training 7 days a week. Rtbot.net explains: The sport is played with modified FIFA rules. Among the modifications are a reduced field of play, a reduction in the number of players, elimination of the offside rule, and permission for one-handed throw-ins. 
Meaghan Benfeito is the second half of the 10m synchronized divers. This is her second time heading to the games and will also be competing in the individual event. She started because of that her now teammates Emilie Heymans and Alexander Despatie. She hails from Montreal and can be found on twitter 
