Canada continues to earn medals as day 2 of Paralympics ends

The second day of the Paralympics saw Team Canada match their medal tally from the opening day as a pair of cyclists earned third place in their respective events.

Alexandre Hayward notched his first Paralympic medal with a third-place finish in the men’s C3 3000m individual pursuit event.

“The thing that saved me, I think, was the fact that during my training, I knew I could go faster than I did in qualifying,” Hayward told Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) staff.

“When I was at Parapan Am in Santiago last year, I did my second run faster than my first, so I really had that in the back of my mind. I tried to think about that as much as possible.”

Friday also saw Keely Shaw become a two-time Paralympic medallist as she won bronze in the women’s C4 3000m individual pursuit, matching her best performance in the event.

“Winning one medal at the Paralympics is pretty incredible, but to repeat three years later is absolutely incredible,” Shaw told CPC staff.

“I didn’t even allow myself to hope for this. The sport has come so far since Tokyo with the times getting progressively faster and faster. I was hoping just to get into the medal match.”

Humboldt bus crash survivor Jacob Wassermann finished sixth in his men’s single sculls heat (rowing) and he will now race in the repechage round on Sunday.

Jacob Wassermann finishes 6th in his first-ever Paralympic race at the Vaires-sur-Marne Stadium. Jacob will race in the PR1 men’s single repechage tomorrow at 4:10am ET. Go Canada 🇨🇦 #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/0iuWqMqYyZ

— Rowing Canada Aviron (@rowingcanada) August 30, 2024

“It’s good to get the first one out of the way,” said Wassermann to CPC staff.

“The nerves sitting on that line were something I’ve never experienced before. I thought it was just going to be like any other day until you get in the booth.”

The action will return on Saturday with Wheelchair rugby, basketball, tennis and more set to occur, including boccia and sitting volleyball.