{"id":519610,"date":"2026-03-07T04:21:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T04:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/519610\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T04:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T04:21:16","slug":"meet-your-8-capital-paralympians-for-the-2026-winter-games-ottawasportspages-ca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/519610\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet your 8 capital Paralympians for the 2026 Winter Games! \u2013 OttawaSportsPages.ca"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This coverage was first sent as an email newsletter to our subscribers. Sign up to receive it, for free, on our Ottawa at the Paralympics page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By Dan Plouffe, Martin Cleary & Keiran Gorsky<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Games time! (Part II) After a quick recharge following a wonderful Winter Olympic Games, our Ottawa Sports Pages team is all revved up for a 10-day run of daily Ottawa at the Paralympics coverage from March 6-15.<\/p>\n

During last month\u2019s Olympics, six medals came home with Ottawa Olympians<\/a> from Milano Cortina thanks to triumphs by Ivanie Blondin (speed skating gold and silver), Isabelle Weidemann (speed skating gold), Kayle Osborne (hockey silver) and Emma Miskew and Rachel Homan (curling bronze).<\/p>\n

And despite being half the size of Ottawa\u2019s Olympic contingent, we dare say that the capital\u2019s eight Paralympians have the potential to match or eclipse that medal haul.<\/p>\n

Leading the way is Canadian Paralympic team co-captain Alexis Guimond (who we\u2019ll tell you more about in our Day 1 preview in a moment). Guimond won a medal at each of his first two Paralympics and will be a multi-medal threat in para alpine skiing.<\/p>\n

Home to the Canadian Paralympic Committee\u2019s head offices, the nation\u2019s capital is massively overrepresented on Team Canada based on what you\u2019d expect based on population. With roughly one out of six Canadian Paralympic team members owning capital connections, that\u2019s more than four times more than the stats would suggest are likely.<\/p>\n

Ottawa will have three Paralympians competing in para alpine skiing, another trio in para ice hockey, and one each in para cross-country skiing and wheelchair curling.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sierra Smith at Louis-Riel high school. File photo<\/p>\n

The Paralympics are well behind the Olympics in the quest for gender equity in sport, with the \u201cmixed\u201d para ice hockey competition (featuring almost exclusively male players, and no female division) accounting for a big part of the discrepancy.<\/p>\n

With three women out of eight, Ottawa\u2019s ratio is superior to Team Canada\u2019s (36 male, 14 female), and Sierra Smith holds a nearly unique distinction as one of the few female skiers guiding a male athlete at the Games.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll look forward to telling you more about all of our local Paralympians as we go through the Games in our coverage each day, but we\u2019ve also got pre-Games stories on them if you\u2019re keen to get extra primed for the start of competition Saturday.<\/p>\n

Here is Team Ottawa for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics:<\/p>\n

Ottawa at the Paralympics \u2013 what\u2019s in store<\/p>\n

If you followed us during the Olympics, you\u2019ve got a good sense of what to expect from our upcoming Ottawa at the Paralympics<\/a> daily coverage.<\/p>\n

From today until the Games close on March 15, subscribers to our free newsletter<\/a> will find us in your inbox each evening with recaps of that day\u2019s events, a preview of what\u2019s to come the next day, Paralympian profiles, schedules and more.<\/p>\n

Our OTTAWA PARALYMPIANS\u2019 SCHEDULES PAGE<\/a> will be an even greater tool to save you from time change mathematics for the Paralympics because of our blessed spring time change (we do that Saturday night\/Sunday morning in Ontario, but Italy prefers to wait another two weeks *insert love for British Columbia here*).<\/p>\n

If you want to watch the action live, CBCsports.ca<\/a> and CBC Gem<\/a> are the place to go. We\u2019ll be sharing lots of clips and coverage from Canada\u2019s national Paralympics broadcast rightsholder throughout the Games when they highlight Ottawa athletes too.<\/p>\n

On top of this newsletter, you can find all of our coverage in one place on our Ottawa at the Paralympics central webpage at:<\/p>\n

OttawaSportsPages.ca\/Ottawa-at-the-Paralympics<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got friends who love the Olympics, be sure to let them know they can sign up to get our free daily newsletters there too.<\/p>\n

Ottawa Paralympians in action on March 7:<\/p>\n

Day 1 Preview: Learning to deal with downtime helps Canadian Paralympic team co-captain Alexis Guimond find para alpine ski success<\/p>\n

Team Canada did not attend Friday\u2019s Opening Ceremonies of the Paralympic Winter Games, which were held in Verona at a historic 2,000-year-old Roman Amphitheatre but a long trip away from competition venues.<\/p>\n

With competition starting for seven of Ottawa\u2019s eight Paralympians on Saturday, business had to trump pleasure on this occasion.<\/p>\n

Para alpine skiing gets the show started bright and early, and Ottawa could well have a podium performance in the books by the time many are waking up on Saturday (with the exception of the earliest risers and the most devoted Paralympic fans of course).<\/p>\n

Sierra Smith<\/a>, Alexis Guimond<\/a> and Brian Rowland<\/a> will descend the Dolomites for the downhill in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gatineau para alpine skier Alexis Guimond will serve as a co-captain of the Canadian Paralympic team at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games. Photo: CPC<\/p>\n

For Guimond, after a decade of manoeuvring down some of the world\u2019s best mountains with speed and courage as a member of the Canadian para alpine ski team, the Gatineau athlete has finally reached the top of the mountain.<\/p>\n

Guimond\u2019s best-ever World Cup season in the men\u2019s standing alpine category has made him a serious candidate for winning a medal or medals in his third consecutive Winter Paralympics. In his first two Paralympics, he won bronze medals in super-G at Beijing 2022 and in giant slalom at PyeongChang 2018.<\/p>\n

Guimond, who is unable to hold a ski pole in his right hand because of paralysis as a result of an accidental fall when he was a baby, heads to the start hut with full confidence for his upcoming downhill, super-G and giant slalom races.<\/p>\n

On the World Cup circuit this season, the 26-year-old posted victories in three super-G races as well as a third-place result. Those four results allowed him to win his first Crystal Globe trophy as the World Cup men\u2019s standing super-G champion.<\/p>\n

Guimond\u2019s stellar season also has included his first-ever downhill victory, which was a key part of an 11-medal World Cup campaign. He finished second in the race for the downhill Crystal Globe trophy.<\/p>\n

\"\"2026 FIS Crystal Globe winner Alexis Guimond. Photo: @alexis_guimond Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was amazing. I finally got my hands on it,\u201d Guimond said in a phone interview with Ottawa Sports Pages High Achievers columnist Martin Cleary<\/a>, describing the feeling of winning the coveted World Cup Crystal Globe trophy for the super-G discipline.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always fallen short,\u201d he added. \u201cIn the past, I have been second or third. I\u2019m proud of what I have done. I\u2019m really excited for the opportunity to showcase what I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has taken several years for Guimond to develop all his skills, physical and mental, to become a contending downhill racer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a fierce battle,\u201d he added about the race for the Crystal Globe in the downhill discipline. \u201cI felt good in the downhill this season, consistently strong. I\u2019ve hit my stride in the speed events.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always been competitive from the beginning of my career. But I\u2019ve never got what it takes to get over to the top of the podium.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guimond secured his first and almost a second Crystal Globe for a variety of reasons as he continues to emerge and improve as a speed skier in super-G and downhill.<\/p>\n

A big part of that has been figuring out how to make the best use of his downtime away from the ski hills. You can read more about that in Cleary\u2019s full feature here on OttawaSportsPages.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Beijing 2022 bronze medallist Collinda Joseph will make her second Paralympic appearance in wheelchair curling. Photo: World Curling<\/p>\n

Also in action on Saturday: Collinda Joseph<\/a> gets her wheelchair curling competition underway with a bang as she and Team Canada face the host Italians.<\/p>\n

And Sledge Hockey of Eastern Ontario products Rob Armstrong<\/a>, Tyrone Henry<\/a> and Anton Jacobs-Webb<\/a> have their opening match of the para ice hockey tournament against Slovakia.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re look forward to telling you more about all the action tomorrow evening, when you\u2019ll hear from us next. Enjoy the 2026 Games, Part II!<\/p>\n

Ottawa at the Paralympics Newsletter<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Ottawa Sports Pages will produce an Ottawa at the Paralympics Newsletter throughout the March 6-15 Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, featuring daily recaps, previews and competition schedules. Sign up to receive it in your inbox for free below.<\/p>\n

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