July 29/24 14:47 pm - 7 Para-cyclists Nominated for Paralympic Team

Posted by Editoress on 07/29/24
 

A team of seven para-cyclists will race for Canada at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Cycling Canada announced Monday.

The nominated athletes are:

Nathan Clement - West Vancouver, BC - MT1 (classification)
Alexandre Hayward - Quispamsis, NB - MC3
Charles Moreau - Victoriaville, QC - MH3
Kate O'Brien - Calgary, AB - WC4
Mel Pemble - Victoria, BC - WC3
Mike Sametz - Calgary, AB - MC3
Keely Shaw - Midale, SK - WC4

The team includes four Paralympic medallists: Charles Moreau (two bronze at Rio 2016), Kate O'Brien (silver at Tokyo 2020), Keely Shaw (bronze at Tokyo 2020), and Mike Sametz (bronze at Rio 2016).

Moreau is the most experienced of the team, with two Games appearances (2016, 2020). O'Brien, Shaw, and Sametz will participate in their second Paralympic Games (O'Brien has also represented Canada in cycling at the Olympic Games, in 2016). For Sametz, it is a return to Paralympic competition after injury and illness kept him out of the sport for the Tokyo Games.

Kate O’Brien


Mel Pemble


Keely Shaw

Nathan Clement


Charles Moreau


Alexandre Hayward


Michael Sametz

Nathan Clement and Mel Pemble will be making their Paralympic debuts in para-cycling, but are already Paralympians in other sports - Clement in Para swimming (2016) and Pemble in Para alpine skiing (2018). Alexandre Hayward will become a first-time Paralympian in Paris.

"I can't describe how it feels being selected for the team for Paris 2024," said Pemble. "It truly feels unreal when I think back on four years ago; restarting this sport and being unsure on where it would lead. Though I've been lucky enough to have a Winter Games experience, in a way, this still feels as if it's my first Games with a different kind of excitement of what is to come and what is possible to achieve in Paris."

At the 2023 world championships in Scotland, these athletes won nine medals, including two gold - Clement in the men's T1 road time trial and Pemble in the women's C3 omnium on the track (which is not a Paralympic event). O'Brien, Shaw, Clement, and Sametz also secured podium finishes.

"Being selected for the Paris Paralympic Games is an honour beyond words," said Clement. "Wearing the maple leaf at my second Games is incredibly humbling. I'm thrilled for this chance to give it for my community and country. Without my team in Vancouver and the support of the city, this dream would not be possible. Thank you to everyone. I can't wait to hear that starting siren and see my teammates achieve their goals and race on the biggest stage alongside them!"

Last fall at the 2023 Parapan Am Games in Santiago, Canadian para-cyclists won 12 medals with Hayward leading the way with four (two gold, one silver, one bronze). Pemble added a gold and silver, Clement notched a gold and bronze, and Shaw won silver. Sametz took home two bronze and Moreau contributed his own bronze medal performance.

"Since being introduced to para-sport as a competitive 15-year-old who'd just had his life turned upside down by a hockey injury, the goal of one day representing Canada at the Paralympics immediately played a huge role in my life," said Hayward. "The feeling of fulfilling that dream 12 years later is hard to put into words and to be heading there with the realistic goal of returning with a medal is a huge cherry on top."

Qualification slots for Canada for the Games were earned through cumulated results at world championships and World Cup events in 2023 and 2024.

Hayward, O'Brien, Pemble, and Shaw will race in the track events, taking place August 29 to September 1 at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome just outside of Paris.

The road events will take place September 4-7, starting and finishing in Clichy-Sous-Bois, with Clement, Hayward, Moreau, Pemble, Sametz, and Shaw set to compete.

"I am so pleased to welcome to the team the seven Para cyclists nominated for Paris," said Karolina Wisniewska, co-chef de mission, Paris 2024 Canadian Paralympic Team. "Canada's Para cycling team was so successful at the Parapan Am Games last year, and it was a thrill to watch them race. I can't wait to do it again in Paris next month!"

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will take place August 28 to September 8 in Paris, France. Canada is expecting to send a team of approximately 130 athletes.