Paralympic newsletter: Canada wins its first two medals, plus who to watch on Friday
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Track cyclist Kate O'Brien got Canada on the board quickly on Day 1 in Paris, taking bronze in the women's C4-5 500m time trial. It's the second Paralympic medal for O'Brien, who took silver in this event at the 2021 Games in Tokyo. She also competed in the 2016 Olympics before a training crash the following year caused a serious brain injury.
Later, swimming star Aurélie Rivard captured her 11th Paralympic medal with a bronze in the women's 50m freestyle S10 event. That moves the 28-year-old Rivard into a tie with wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos for the most medals among Canadians competing in Paris.
Swimmer Shelby Newkirk came close to her first Paralympic podium, placing fourth in the women's 50m freestyle S6 final.
Other key Canadian results:
* Second-ranked women's individual BC4 boccia player Alison Levine split her first two group-stage games. She plays her final one Friday at 11 a.m. ET. The top two in each group advance to Saturday's quarterfinals.
* Canada's fifth-ranked wheelchair rugby team challenged the second-ranked United States in their group-stage opener before losing 51-48. Canadian star Zak Madell scored a game-high 31 tries. Canada, going for its first Paralympic medal since 2012, faces ninth-ranked Germany on Friday at 11:30 a.m. ET before closing group play Saturday against No. 3 Japan.
* The Canadian women's wheelchair basketball team also lost a close one, falling 70-65 to China. Canada placed fifth at the 2021 Paralympics and the most recent world championship, in 2022, while China took silver at both events. As usual, Kady Dandeneau led the way for Canada, scoring 28 points with nine rebounds and seven assists. The Canadians' next game is Saturday against Great Britain.
* In other team sports openers, Canada crushed France 10-0 in women's goalball and swept Slovenia in straight sets in women's sitting volleyball. The goalball team continues group play Friday at 8:45 a.m. ET against Japan, while the No. 1-ranked sitting volleyball squad faces Brazil on Saturday.
WATCH | O'Brien wins Canada's 1st medal in Paris:
Here are Friday's leading contenders, in chronological order of their finals:
Track cycling: Keely Shaw in the women's C4 3,000m individual pursuit
Shaw did not get through qualifying in Thursday's C4-5 500m time trial event — where, as a C4-class athlete, she was facing opponents with a less-severe disability classification. Her chances in the C4 3,000m are better. Shaw took bronze in this event at the 2021 Paralympics and has reached the podium three times at the world championships.
The two fastest riders in qualifying (6:15 a.m. ET) will race for the gold medal at 9:25 a.m. ET while the next two fastest square off for the bronze at 9:17 a.m. ET.
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