Mission accomplished as Canada finishes Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games ranked third in gold medal count

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SOCHI, Russia, March 16, 2014 /CNW/ - Team Canada has finished the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games ranked third among all nations in the gold medal count, achieving its performance target for these Games. Canadian athletes won seven gold, two silver and seven bronze medals in Sochi.

"On behalf of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, I'd like to congratulate Sochi for hosting a spectacular Paralympic Games," said Canadian Paralympic President Gaétan Tardif. "Athletes, coaches, friends and families were all treated exceptionally well and will head home with fond memories from Sochi."

With this performance, Canada has kept its place as a top winter sport nation following the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games, where Canada collected 10 gold medals, five of which were won by a single athlete, para-alpine skier Lauren Woolstencroft who retired after 2010.

"Canada's veterans performed extremely well in Sochi, collecting multiple medals," noted Team Canada Chef de Mission Ozzie Sawicki. "Brian McKeever winning three gold medals and Josh Dueck with a gold and a silver were outstanding. As well, exciting new talent emerged at these Games, such as 16-year-old visually-impaired alpine skier Mac Marcoux, who won a gold and two bronze medals with guide Robin Fémy, which certainly bodes well for the future."

"Overall, Canada's performance exceeded last year's world rankings, moving to second from fifth in gold medal standings," added Catherine Gosselin-Després, the Executive Director, Sport, for the Canadian Paralympic Committee. "Canada's world-class coaches and support staff must also be congratulated on this performance. We are very grateful to all our partners - sport, government and corporate - for their investment which has made these results possible."

PHOTOGRAPHY: Media are invited to visit photos.paralympic.ca and create an account to be able to download high-resolution photos of Canadian Paralympic athletes at any time, at no cost.

For full information about Team Canada at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games, please visit paralympic.ca/team-canada.

SOURCE: Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC)

Alison Korn
Team Canada Press Chief
SOCHI Cell: 011-7-938-454-3162
[email protected]

Martin Richard
Executive Director, Communications & Marketing
Canadian Paralympic Committee
SOCHI cell: 011-7-938-454-3179
[email protected]

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