Zak Madell leads undefeated Canadian wheelchair rugby squad past United States

The Canadian wheelchair rugby team is brimming with confidence at the Parapan Am Games in Santiago, Chile after defeating their American rivals 46-41, securing first place in the preliminary round with an unblemished 5-0 record.

Led by one of the most dominant players in the sport today, Zak Madell scored 30 of Canada’s 46 tries on the way to a 46-41 win over the world’s number-one ranked Americans.

“Those ones always feel good. We’re excited and we want to celebrate a little bit but we’re already looking ahead. We have a semifinal tomorrow,” Madell told CBC Sports after the win.

“This is a long-standing rivalry, so we’re always looking forward to playing this team. Today I think we had a little more energy than them.”

Canada now awaits its semifinal opponent — it will either be Brazil or Colombia on Wednesday.

It would seem as though the Canadians are once again on a collision course with the Americans to decide a champion. And there’s a lot at stake.

The winner here not only takes home gold but more importantly clinches a berth to the Paralympics in Paris next summer.

“We had almost everybody out there today and everybody doing their job,” longtime Team Canada player Michael Whitehead said.

He’s been a part of the Canada versus USA rivalry for years.

“It goes back a couple decades for me. We have to respect this team and they’re going to bring it. Another big one in a couple of days I hope.”

Four years ago the United States won Parapan Am Games gold. Canada won it all at the 2015 Games in Toronto.

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It’s always a rock ’em sock ’em battle when the Canadian wheelchair rugby team meets the Americans and that was exactly the case again Tuesday afternoon.

Back and forth the two juggernauts in the sport went, trading tries for the first half of the game. At one point Madell banged into an opposition’s wheelchair with such force his wheel popped off.

Each possession through the first and well into the second period was matched by each team. Like two heavyweight boxers the Canadians and Americans traded blows but the United States finally flinched late in the first half.

Down the stretch in the second half the Canadians appeared to have the United States players flustered at times.

Early on in the fourth period the Canadians kept the pressure on, forcing two American turnovers leading to two quick tries by Canada.

That gave Canada its biggest lead of the game at 38-34, forcing the Americans to take a timeout.

Despite trying to mount a late charge, Madell and company proved to be too much for the US. The Canadians stayed composed and focused, eventually cruising to a 46-41 over the USA.

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“That was a great win for us,” said head coach Patrick Côté.

“We’re going to have to trade punches with them and keep trading punches and at some point you land one. That’s the crack in the armour and if you have a few cracks it sometimes splits open and that’s what happened today.”

Perhaps it was a tuneup to the last showdown in the gold medal game, and Madell says the team wanted to put the Americans on notice.

“We wanted to make a little bit of a statement and work on a few things. I think for the whole team that was a confidence boost,” he said.

Canadian player Trevor Hirschfield says if the team concentrates on playing their style of rugby, they should find themselves right where they want to be at the end.

“We play against each other so much and we always get up to play each other,” he said.

“It’s always going to be a battle and if we end up seeing one another in the final I’m sure it’ll be another hard fought match and one we have to be ready for.”

Canada captures 3 silvers, bronze in Para athletics

Meanwhile, Canadians have come away from the first day of Para athletics competition with four medals.

A pair of Victoria natives got things started with silver medals in men’s 1,500-metre races.

Michael Barber, 23, captured second place in the T20 category, crossing the finish line in four minutes 11.99 seconds.

It marks the first major senior medal for Barber, who was sixth in the event at the 2019 Parapan Ams and ninth at the world championships earlier this year.

Two-time Paralympian Liam Stanley also earned hardware, matching his second-place finish from 2019 with a time of 4:13.60. Stanley, 26, competes in the T38 category.

Toronto’s Jesse Zesseu, 24, will also take the second step of the podium after his 52.32-metre throw in the men’s F37 discus throw.

Zesseu saved his best attempt for last but could not overcome Venezuela’s Edwars Varela, whose final toss of 52.68 metres clinched the gold medal and a Parapan Am record.

Zesseu has only been competing in Para sports for three years, with these Parapan Ams marking his first multi-sport event.

“If you told 2020 or 2019 Jesse that he’d be in this position, he’d laugh at you,” Zesseu told CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux. “To make money and have a career from throwing a disc and jumping in the sand is insane. So I’m grateful.”

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Finally, Anthony Bouchard of Quebec City tacked on a bronze medal in the men’s T52 400.

The 31-year-old wheelchair racer crossed the finish line in 1:03.15, a little more than a second behind gold medallist Leonardo Perez of Mexico (1:01.72).

Canada is now sitting on 15 total medals for the Games, including three gold, four silver and eight bronze.