Sticking with the tradition of promoting our Canadian Athletes we are pleased to post this release for Canada’s young Para athletes who are returning from the Chile 2025 Youth Parapan American Games with 14 medals.
The Games took place October 31 to November 9 that saw 35 Canadian athletes compete in five sports all of whom finished on the podium in each of the following that saw 32 athletes win a medal, with all 35 making the medal rounds in their respective sports.
- Para swimming (8 medals)
- Wheelchair basketball (2)
- Goalball (2)
- Boccia (1),
- Para Table Tennis (1).
Alyssa Smyth (Para swimming) and Andrew Woodrow (boccia) were Canada’s Closing Ceremony flag bearers.
Smyth, age 15, was Canada’s winningest athlete at the Games, capturing four gold medals in the pool. Eighteen-year-old Woodrow earned Canada’s boccia podium with a silver in the BC4 individuals.
CHILE 2025 CANADIAN YOUTH PARAPAN AM TEAM MEDALLISTS:
GOLD – Elise Froese, Rosie Long, Kayla MacKinnon, Mercy Nyakundi – Women’s 3×3 Wheelchair Basketball
GOLD – Dylan Cannan, Nasif Chowdhury, Cameron Gelowitz, Brandon Louie, Simon Mazi-Keep, Thai Milton, Ibrahim Odza, Bernard Rosello, Jeffer Ward, Judah Websdale – Men’s 5×5 Wheelchair Basketball
GOLD – Alyssa Smyth – Para Swimming, Junior Women’s 100m Freestyle Multi-Class
GOLD – Alyssa Smyth – Para Swimming, Junior Women’s 100m Breaststroke Multi-Class
GOLD – Alyssa Smyth – Para Swimming, Junior Women’s 50m Freestyle, Multi-Class
GOLD – Alyssa Smyth – Para Swimming, Junior Women’s 100m Butterfly Multi-Class
GOLD – Veronica MacLellan, Para Swimming, Junior Women’s 100m Backstroke Multi-Class
SILVER – Yehati Antone, Arianna Balson, Elena Hung, Lily-Anna King, Cassandra Ruttle, Sadie Trant – Women’s Goalball
SILVER – Roy Pan – Para Swimming, Senior Men’s 50m Butterfly Multi-Class
SILVER – Andrew Woodrow, Boccia, Men’s BC4 Individual
BRONZE – Thulir Hector – Para Table Tennis, Women’s Class 8-10 Singles
BRONZE – Will Campbell, Hayden Den Ouden, Samuel Devries, Caden Johnson, Harry Nickerson, Merrick Smith – Men’s Goalball
BRONZE – Lucas Van Herk – Para Swimming, Senior Men’s 200m Freestyle Multi-Class
BRONZE – Veronica MacLellan – Para Swimming, Junior Women’s 50m Freestyle, Multi-Class
Catherine Gosselin-Despres, Chief Sport Officer, Canadian Paralympic Committee mentioned “We are so proud of each and every athlete for their performances at the Games,”
She continued to mention “It has been such an exciting week of competition watching the entire team proudly represent Canada on the international stage, and we have seen so many incredible results. We have a bright future ahead for Para sport in Canada, and we can’t wait to continue following and supporting each athlete’s journey.”
Canada’s Opening Ceremony flag bearers both captured medals in their respective events – Elise Froese winning gold in the women’s 3×3 wheelchair basketball tournament and Harry Nickerson claiming bronze alongside the men’s goalball team.
At 14 years old, Thulir Hector was Canada’s youngest medallist. She won Para table tennis bronze for the nation’s first medal of the Games.
In addition to the strong results on the field of play, Chile 2025 was an important event for classification, with several athletes classified at the Games for the first time and receiving their eligibility for international competition.
This was the sixth edition of the Youth Parapan Am Games, with more than 1,500 athletes between the ages of 14 and 21 from over 30 countries in attendance. Canada competed for the first time since 2017.
For more information on the Chile 2025 Youth Parapan Am Games, please visit Paralympic.ca/games/chile-2025-youth-parapan-american-games
For additional info contact
Nicole Watts
Senior Manager, Communications & PR
Canadian Paralympic Committee
nwatts@paralympic.ca /
