On the night CanadaB次元官网网址檚 curlers lost a last-rock heartbreaker in the Paralympic semifinals, hockey player Billy Bridges was waiting up for them when they returned home to the athletes village.
B次元官网网址淏illy gave me a pat on the back and said B次元官网网址榊ouB次元官网网址檝e got to go tomorrow and win that medal for us,B次元官网网址� meaning the whole team Canada,B次元官网网址� said skip Mark Ideson, who led Canada to bronze. B次元官网网址淎nd that really put things back in perspective for me. So (Saturday) we played for Canada.B次元官网网址�
The Canadian team of 55 athletes strong had set a cautious goal of 17 medals at the Pyeongchang Paralympics, one better than four years ago in Sochi.
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But the Canadians blew past that mark with several days still to go and never looked back, capturing 28 medals to crush their previous best of 19 in 2010 in Vancouver.
The athletes credited CanadaB次元官网网址檚 performance to a strong sense of teamwork, and a solid group of young stars on the rise.
B次元官网网址淭here were no down days, I think we were riding the high,B次元官网网址� said Mark Arendz, whose six medals in biathlon and cross-country skiing earned him the role as the teamB次元官网网址檚 flagbearer in SundayB次元官网网址檚 closing ceremonies. B次元官网网址漌e started on this wave and we were riding it, not just nordic, but everyone here in team Canada contributed to that as well.B次元官网网址�
The 28 medals were second best behind the United States (36). Ranking by gold medals, Canada, with eight golds, was third behind the Americans (13), and the Neutral Paralympic Athletes from Russia, who had eight gold but more silver than Canada.
CanadaB次元官网网址檚 nordic team B次元官网网址� biathlon and cross-country B次元官网网址� led the way with 16 medals.
B次元官网网址淣othing unexpected for us, but it took absolutely everything, and thatB次元官网网址檚 what you want at a Paralympic Games, to hit that peak and get as much out of our team as we can,B次元官网网址� said Brian McKeever, who raced to three gold, plus a bronze Sunday in the relay. B次元官网网址漌e did it, and it was great teamwork. ThatB次元官网网址檚 been our theme is teamwork.B次元官网网址�
The Paralympic teamB次元官网网址檚 performance comes a month after Canada recorded a best-ever winter Olympics with 29 medals.
B次元官网网址淭hat gets us off on the right foot,B次元官网网址� said Arendz. B次元官网网址滻 personally love watching the Olympics. That gets the spirit going, and then the closing of the Olympics, and then youB次元官网网址檙e like B次元官网网址極h wow, now itB次元官网网址檚 our turn.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
The Olympic team handed off the baton, and the Paralympic team took it and ran.
B次元官网网址淔ollowing the Olympic Games, you always have that pressure in terms of how our Olympic counterparts did,B次元官网网址� said CanadaB次元官网网址檚 chef de mission Todd Nicholson. B次元官网网址漈hey paved the way for us, in order to create that atmosphere to be successful here.B次元官网网址�
Nicholson, wearing a chefB次元官网网址檚 hat and apron B次元官网网址� a tongue-in-cheek nod to his role as team B次元官网网址渃hefB次元官网网址� and leader B次元官网网址� said the Paralympians arrived in Pyeongchang ready to go.
B次元官网网址淭hey came here came prepared, mentally and physically, and in the best shape that they possibly could be in, to leave it all on the field of play. Everybody peaked at the right time,B次元官网网址� he said.
McKeever, who became the countryB次元官网网址檚 most decorated winter Paralympian in Pyeongchang, also credited the changing culture in Canada, and the support Paralympic athletes receive from Sport Canada, Own The Podium, and their various corporate sponsors.
B次元官网网址淲hen I started in 2002, there was very little funding, we were picking up the scraps of what was left over from the able-bodied programs,B次元官网网址� said the 38-year-old. B次元官网网址滻 remember doing World Cup trips with one coach and also I was helping with wax testing and waxing and we were doing it all as one group.B次元官网网址�
McKeever, whose remarkable career spans five Paralympics, hopes CanadaB次元官网网址檚 performance has touched people B次元官网网址� and most importantly young people with disabilities B次元官网网址� back home.
B次元官网网址淲e can reach out to more people, we can get more support, we can hopefully reach out to more young people with disabilities to get them into sport,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淪port is great for the spirit, itB次元官网网址檚 great to just be kids and playing outside, and hopefully now theyB次元官网网址檒l start to know thereB次元官网网址檚 a vehicle for that if they want to continue in sport, they can go all the way to the top levels.B次元官网网址�
While McKeever and Arendz led the parade to the medal podium, numerous young athletes were all too eager to follow them there, showing CanadaB次元官网网址檚 future in Paralympic indeed looks bright. Among them: Natalie Wilkie, a 17-year-old cross-country skier who won gold, silver and bronze in her Paralympic debut; downhill skier Mollie Jepsen, who raced to four medals including one gold; and Liam Hickey and Corbyn Smith, a pair of 19-year-olds on CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Para ice hockey team.
Canada dropped a 2-1 hockey heartbreaker in overtime Sunday to wrap up the Paralympics, and the veterans couldnB次元官网网址檛 say enough about the teamB次元官网网址檚 youngest players.
B次元官网网址淭he talent that this game has, looking at my younger teammates and what they can do, itB次元官网网址檚 so inspiring, it makes you want to keep going and see where the sport can go,B次元官网网址� Bridges said. B次元官网网址漈he best showcase for this game and this sport is the youth that are coming up, and what they do with the puck and how fast they are B次元官网网址� what they can accomplish is just incredible.B次元官网网址�
Added captain Greg Westlake: B次元官网网址淚t feels bad today but thereB次元官网网址檚 gold medals in that room (in the future) even if they donB次元官网网址檛 know it.B次元官网网址�
Pyeongchang set numerous records, including ticket sales for a winter Games. Organizers said the 345,000 tickets sold was 157 per cent of their target of 220,000.
A record 48 countries and 567 athletes B次元官网网址� the previous bests were 45 countries and 547 athletes B次元官网网址� competed in 80 events, eight more than Sochi.
Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press
