Athletics at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo kicks off on August 24^th and runs until September 5^th. Of the 16 athletes named to Team Canada, 4 are members of BC Athletics! Congratulations athletes, we can’t wait to cheer you on!  Here’s who to watch!

Liam Stanley – Men’s 1500m (T37) – FB - @liam.stanley.10
In his second Paralympic Games, Liam will be aiming for the podium in the 1500m.  In 2020, Liam set a new world record in the T37 5000m with a time of 15:54.50.

Nathan Riech – Men’s 1500m (T38) - IG - @nategraywolf
This will be Nate’s first Paralympic Games.  He has had a remarkable season leading into Tokyo, setting a new world record in the T38 1500m, clocking a time of 3:50.47.  Nate will have his eyes set on winning gold in Tokyo after winning the 1500m in the 2019 IPC World Championships.

Thomas Normandeau – Men’s 400m (T47) – IG - @tom.normandeau
Tokyo will be Thomas’ first Paralympic Games, where he will be racing the 400m in the T47 classification. At the 2019 IPC World Championships, Thomas was 8^th in the 400m, and will be looking to crack the podium in Tokyo.

Greg Stewart – Men’s Shot Put (F46) – IG - @greg_r_stewart
This is Greg’s first Paralympic Games in the Shot Put.  Greg has the Canadian Record in the F46 shot put event of 16.30m, that he set at the 2019 IPC World Championships, and won a silver medal.

The Canadian Team will be supported by the following BC staff:

Sarah Black, Victoria, BC, Team Manager
Heather Hennigar, Victoria, BC, Coach
Sandeep Nanhandra, Victoria, BC, Athletic Therapist
Patricia Roney, Victoria, BC, Physiotherapist

BC Athletes Schedule:

Greg Stewart
Tuesday August 31^st, 5:30pm PST
Men’s Shot Put – F46 Final

Thomas Normandeau
Thursday September 2^nd, 5:30pm PST
Men’s 400m – T47 Round 1 Heats

Saturday September 4^th, 3:00am PST
Men’s 400m – T47 Final

Nathan Riech and Liam Stanley

Friday September 3^rd, 3:00am PST
Men’s 1500m – T38 & T37 Round 1 Heats

Saturday September 3^rd, 3:00am PST
Men’s 1500m – T38  & T37 Round Final

Watch live: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/paralympics/watch-online

Did you know?

Para Athletics is divided into different sport classes to facilitate fair competition. Each Competitors sport class is determined based on an evaluation process by classifiers with expert qualifications from medical, motor function and sport specific perspectives. In Para Athletics the sport class consists of a prefix “T” or “F” and a number. It indicates for which events the sport class applies, either for track/jump/marathon or for field events. The prefix T stands for “track”, marathon and jumping events, and F stands for “field.”  Classes are divided in terms of type (indicated by the first digit) and level of impairment. In general, the lower the second digit, the higher the level of impairment.

For more information on sport classification, visit: https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/sports/athletics/ and for a fantastic video summary visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SmRVtp9QF0