Patrick Anderson and Katarina Roxon named flag-bearers for Paris Paralympics opening ceremony

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Wheelchair basketball player Patrick Anderson and swimmer Katarina Roxon were named flag-bearers on Tuesday for Canada’s Paralympic team at the Paris Games.

Anderson is about to compete in his sixth Paralympics. The 45-year-old has won four medals – including golds in 2000, 2004 and 2012.

Roxon, 31, will compete at her fifth Games, the most by any Canadian swimmer in Paralympic history. In 2016 she won a gold medal in the 100-metre breaststroke at Rio de Janeiro in a Canadian-record time.

She is from Kippens on the west coast of Newfoundland.

The opening ceremony will take place on Wednesday with competition in individual sports starting as early as Thursday.

“This is a humbling type of honour,” Anderson, who lives in Fergus, Ont., said Tuesday on a video call. “It could be anybody. There are so many of us who have poured their lives into the Paralympic movement.”

Anderson lost both of his legs after being struck by a drunk driver when he was nine years old. Roxon was born with her left arm missing below her elbow.

“This is a huge privilege,” Roxon said. “To be able to represent the Maple Leaf is truly an honour every single time.

“Pat and I are very privileged to be chosen for this. It is something I don’t think I will ever forget.”

Both were told last week that they had been selected as the opening-ceremony flag bearers.

“We thought we were being interviewed for something and had no idea what it was,” Roxon said. “It was a shocking moment. I was very surprised. There were a lot of emotions all mixed into one.”

Anderson’s wife and children will be in attendance, as will Roxon’s family. They were not allowed to travel to Tokyo in 2021 for the pandemic-delayed Paralympics.

“Tokyo was an experience,” Roxon said. “It was a totally different kind of Games. I think everyone is very much looking forward to how things are going to go here.”