It is great to be back at Stade de Paris. Canada’s para athletics team began their Paralympic program on the track and in the throwing ring on the first day of competition in Paris.
On a wet day in the French capital, Team Canada rookies earned their first trips to a Paralympic final, while one of the sport’s GOATs will go for an even dozen Paralympic medals.
Bouchard Races to 6th
Anthony Bouchard put in two strong races on the first day of Para Athletics at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, resulting in a 6th place finish in the men’s T52 400 metres. Competing on a wet track twice on a wet day in Paris, Bouchard stopped the clock in a time of 1:04.09.
“It went pretty well. I didn’t want to finish last, so I’m happy with the result,” Bouchard said.
“In the last 100 metres, I said ‘Nope. You’re not getting ahead of me,’” he said about the hard-charging competitor in the lane next to him.
Bouchard qualified for the final with a time of 1:05.98 in his Paralympic debut during the morning semi-final – good for 4th in his heat and his spot in the final.
With the 100 metres still to come, Bouchard is looking to the future.
“I’m going to try to reset and start all over and do the 100 metres like it’s my first race,” he said.
Lakatos Will See Hug Again in the Final
Eleven-time Paralympic medallist Brent Lakatos played a game of cat-and-mouse with defending champion and world record holder Marcel Hug. The two legends broke away early from the rest of the pack and finished almost a full lap ahead of the field.
In the end, they finished 1-2 in their men’s 5000 metre semi-final, with Lakatos taking 2nd place in a time of 10:35.51 to book his spot in tomorrow’s final.
“I had no idea what to expect. I haven’t raced a real 5000 metres since Tokyo. So I didn’t know how well I’d do. I didn’t know if I could qualify. I hoped I could qualify because training has been going well the last little while,” Lakatos said. “That was better than I expected, so it’s a real confidence builder for the rest of the Games.”
Rummery Punches Her Ticket
Amanda Rummery will move on to the women’s T47 400 metre final tomorrow night after finishing 2nd in her semi-final with a time of 59.24 seconds.
Rummery hung with the leaders for the whole race, making a quick dip at the line to secure that 2nd place finish.
“I was feeling really good, going into the race, and I’m obviously happy to get the Big Q (to automatically qualify for the final), but I’d like to adjust a few things so I can run a faster time in the final and hopefully medal,” she said.
Bolton Gets Team Canada Started
Charlotte Bolton was the first Canadian para athlete to compete in Paris, competing in the women’s F41 shot put final in the wee hours of the morning (Canadian time).
Bolton’s second throw travelled 7.92 metres for her only legal throw in three tries. She did not qualify among the top 8 who threw three more times. The two-time Paralympian finished 10th in the event and will now shift her focus on the F41 discus final on Wednesday morning.
“It started off pretty good in warmup, but the rain came down and I fell during my first throw. I feel like if I’d had less pressure on the third throw, I could have done better. I think the moral of the story is to relax and ease into that first one. I had a really great year and I’m proud to get here, but it wasn’t what I hoped,” Bolton said.
Tomorrow at Paris 2024
Now that Para Athletics has started in Paris, the action only gets hotter from here. There are two finals before much of Canada gets up tomorrow morning (but we know YOU will set an early alarm to watch).
Ashlyn Renneberg makes her Paralympic debut in the women’s F13 javelin final. Then three-time Paralympian Guillaume Ouellet races for that elusive Paralympic medal, after finishing 4th in 2016 and 5th in 2020.
The evening session features three finals with Canadians on the hunt for the podium. Keegan Gaunt and Amanda Rummery will race in their first Paralympic finals, while Brent Lakatos is aiming for medal #12.
Athletics Canada’s Paris Headquarters
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Caroline Sharp
National Teams Communications Specialist
Athletics Canada
WhatsApp: (613) 323-5605 / Cell: (214) 601-8024
E: Caroline.Sharp@athletics.ca