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!!!

Athletics Canada nominates 24 athletes to Team Canada for Rio 2016 Paralympic Games