August 11, 2016
Today Athletics Canada released the list of Para Athletes selected to Team Canada for Rio 2016! Congratulations to the 24 amazing athletes who will represent Canada at the Paralympics in September! We will be cheering you on!
Unfortunately, Tommy did not make the list this time ’round. He had a fantastic season of new personal bests, and met the criteria required to make him eligible for selection to Rio, and came very, very close 🙂 We are so proud of his accomplishments, and so excited for all the future opportunities soon to come as he continues to grow as a Canadian T20 Para Athlete. In Rio, the longest distance event offered for T20 athletes is the 1500m. But next year at the World Championships in London England, there will be a T20 5000m event. Tommy is very strong in this event, and we are hopeful that he may have the opportunity to represent Canada next year in that event! And now we also look towards 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, knowing that Tommy is excited and keen to continue his dedicated training in his enthusiastic and joyful way 🙂 We want to warmly thank all the many wonderful people who have supported Tommy on his Road to Rio- his Ottawa Lions Coach Ray Elrick, his many teammates and training friends at the Ottawa Lions, his friends Kyle and Marco for their one to one support as fellow runners, the many Athletics Canada staff including Kristine, Kayla, Adam, Jason, Trish, Peter Eriksson, and others who supported him at their Development Camps in Guelph and Arizona, the many people who helped him complete his Classification as a T20 para athlete in both Italy and Arizona this year, his local physical therapists including Danny, Francine, Dr. Rod, and Marjolein, who kept him injury free and running, Ari Niemi at Zizu Optics for the awesome sunglasses, and for and his many, many wonderfully supportive friends both online and in person, and Tommy’s many family members near and far, who have all cheered him on and believed in him every step of the way! As Tommy’s parents, Peter and I feel like the First Luckiest Parents in the World, just being a part of Tommy’s unique journey as he goes forward each day, with his amazing smile, putting a smile on the faces of so many along the way. Whee!!!

August 7, 2016
Two new videos of Tommy at the Canadian National Track and Field Championships and Rio Selection Trials in July are posted now on his YouTube channel, Lookyus 🙂 Tommy won Gold in the 1500m, and Silver in the 5000m. He raced very well and enjoyed being there!
Many warm thanks to all who support Tommy, and look forward to updates on his races, etc. It has sure been a big year. We are very proud of all he has accomplished, and very grateful for all the kind words from his wonderful friends both far and near <3 In case you missed our earlier post re: Rio Paralympics: The list of Canadian para athletes selected for Rio is not yet released officially. Tommy has met the requirements for selection, but the quota is very limited so many deserving para athletes who are eligible will not be selected. Will keep you all posted when the official list is released. Have a very magical day 🙂 [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLjMG8hqZvvL5-auhOQteXR2dHUucxizIs[/embedyt]

August 5, 2016
With the Opening Ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games being today, many of Tommy’s friends are asking if Tommy will be going to Rio for the Paralympic Games, which will take place in September. The official list of athletes has not yet been released. However, Canada, like all countries, had a limited quota for athletes and so was only able to select a small number of para athletes. Tommy had an incredible year of amazing personal bests, and ran the standard required for selection for Rio, as well as completing the IPC classification criteria by competing in Italy andArizona this past spring. Although Tommy is eligible for selection to go to Rio, there were many Canadian Para athletes who also met the criteria. We are still waiting for the final list of athletes to be released. If Tommy is not selected for Rio, we look forward to next year, when the World Championships will be help in London, England. The 5000m has been added as a T20 event for London, and Tommy is very strong in this event! If Rio is not meant to be for Tommy, there are new, exciting opportunities on the horizon for him, especially given the amazing year of new personal bests Tommy has run!!!!
In the meantime, we are making public our videos of Tommy’s wonderful trip in early July to the Canadian National Track and Field Championships and Rio Selection Trials. We hope you enjoy sharing in the exciting experiences Tommy had this year on his Road to Rio. Just check out his YouTube channel, Lookyus, for new videos as we post them over the next few days! As we look back on his year, we are so proud of all that he has accomplished. We will post very soon regarding Rio, once the official Paralympic Team for Canada is announced!
Finally, we want to congratulate and send the best of luck and good wishes to the Canadian athletes representing Canada in the Olympics which begin today in Rio! We are cheering for you! Go, Team Canada!!!! <3 https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=tommy%20des%20brisay-autism%20means%20friendship%20arizona