Ryan Rondeau and performance partner, Samantha Leger, celebrating the silver medal win for Canada

Ottawa, ON (October 2, 2022) – Ryan Rondeau (Edmonton, AB) sealed a silver medal at his first international competition ever in Cali, Colombia while in Pairs competition, Rondeau and BC3 teammate Marylou Martineau (Québec City, QC) come home empty handed after a bitter 3-2 defeat to Mexico in the bronze medal match.
 
Rondeau beat Chilean Cristobal Aranda 6-1 in the semifinals of the BC3 Male Individual event to move onto the finals against Mexico’s Raúl López Rosas. He had beaten Rosas in the round robin to finish atop of the pool, but the finals were a new challenge for the rookie.
 
“I missed a couple shots that I feel I could normally make which put me behind the eight ball and I was never able to get my footing.” Rondeau lost 7-0.
 
“I had a mixture of confidence and some nervousness going into the finals since it being my first international final ever. We are over the moon to win the medal. If you told us at the beginning of the week [that we had made it to the finals] we would have been over the moon, as we are now. Losing in the finals makes us want to go even further next time. It feels great to be able to come out and see results immediately…”
 
Martineau journaled her experience throughout the Cali competition. Some of her favourite moments included watching Ryan compete for the first time on the world stage along with playing alongside her new teammate  in the BC3 Pairs portion of the event.
 
In pool play, the Canadians were to play the Chilean  Pair, who unfortunately had to forfeit the match for medical reasons which meant that Martineau and Rondeau had a bye to the semifinals.
 
After a 9-2 loss in the semifinals match against Argentina, Marylou concluded that “it went well. Me and Ryan have good communication. We had to adjust at the beginning of the game [because this is our first game together in Pairs] but by the third end we were completing good displacements and good first balls.”
 
The Pair then went on to lose in a closely contested match in the bronze medal game which came down to the fourth end where Mexico ran Canada out of balls to secure the win. The score ended 3-2.
 
Martineau also played in the individual female BC3 portion of the event where she lost in the bronze medal matchup against Maria Velez Izaza from Colombia. She was in control throughout the game and  in the last end  was able to tie  the score and had one last ball that she could have played. Deciding against rolling her last ball in the fourth, it meant that the game would go into a tiebreak end where, ultimately, poor placements were the deciding factor.
 
“Overall, I appreciate my experience. There are still some little things to work on, but Ryan and I had great communication, and it shows great promise for the future!” explained Martineau.
 
Coach Simon Larouche was proud of his athletes: “I’m proud of their efforts. Ryan had a remarkable start on the international scene. Marylou played for a medal… We have a better idea now what each are bringing to the table.”
 
Find the full results and schedule here.
 
Rewatch the webcast here.

About Boccia Canada
Boccia Canada is the boccia delivery arm of the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association (CCPSA), the National Sport Organization for the Paralympic sport of boccia. Boccia Canada is focused on providing athletes and individuals of all ages and skill with the chance to play a unique Paralympic sport. CCPSA collaborates with partners to increase the participation of Canadians with cerebral palsy and related disabilities in sport and physical activity, while leading, developing and growing boccia from grassroots, to producing World and Paralympic Champions.

About boccia
Boccia is a Paralympic sport of precision and strategy similar to lawn bowling or curling, played by athletes with Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, and related disabilities. It is one of only two Paralympic sports that do not have an Olympic counterpart. Athletes compete in one of six sport classes based on their level and type of disability: BC1, BC2, BC3, BC4, BC5, and Open. For more information on boccia, visit www.bocciacanada.ca.