Video B-Roll available via CNW - Naoki Yasu, Japanese wheelchair basketball
great, joins the Paralympic Torch Relay in Whistler

VANCOUVER, March 12 /CNW/ - He competed in the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, was the first Japanese player to play professional wheelchair basketball in Europe, and on Monday March 8th, after enjoying an adaptive ski lesson on Whistler Mountain, he carried the flame in Whistler, BC as part of the Paralympic Torch Relay.

Video and photo package includes footage of Naoki Yasu carrying the flame after the hand off from Canadian Wheelchair Basketball legend Patrick Anderson in Whistler village, interview footage of Naoki Yasu's thoughts on Canada, and on being one of the few international Torchbearers, as well as footage of him enjoying an adaptive ski lesson on Whistler Mountain. Package also contains footage of the Paralympic Torch Relay's journey through Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, including a demonstration Sledge Hockey game, a run by sir Philip Owen, President of the International Paralympic Committee, and the flame being carried in a canoe in Victoria prior to an inspiring speech by Man in Motion hero Rick Hansen.

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TIME OF POSTING: 17:00 Pacific

DATE OF POSTING: Friday March 12th, 2010

All video can be viewed by clicking on the link. Broadcast quality video is available for download by accredited journalists. Please contact [email protected] for access.

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