The Paris Paralympics kick off on Wednesday. Here are 4 Hamilton athletes to watch

The Paralympic Games in Paris begin on Wednesday and there are a number of athletes on Team Canada who have ties to the Hamilton region.

Approximately 4,400 athletes are expected to compete for 549 medals across 22 sports over 11 days. A team of 126 athletes will represent Canada in 18 sports.

The Games begin with the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday and run through Sept. 8. The public can follow CBC/Radio-Canada coverage on CBC, CBC Gem, the CBC Paris 2024 website and the CBC Paris 2024 app.

Here are some local athletes from the Hamilton area who will be competing:

Katie Cosgriffe: Para Swimming, Burlington/Oakville

Katie Cosgriffe, 17, from Burlington, qualified for Paris 2024 after competing in the women’s 100m butterfly S10 and women’s 100m backstroke S10 at the Paralympic Trials in May. She will compete in the S10 class.

Cosgriffe achieved her international classification in April 2023 and represented Canada at the 2023 Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester. She was named Swimming Canada’s Breakout Para Swimmer of the Year for 2023.

“Katie has been involved in competitive swimming since she was nine years old. After being diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, one of the most common hereditary neurological disorders, in early 2021, she transitioned to para-swimming,” her biography on the Canadian Paralympic Committee website reads.

The committee notes that she is the youngest swimmer on the team.

Emma Grace Van Dyk: Paraswimming, Hamilton/Port Colborne

Hamilton-born Emma Grace Van Dyk began swimming at a young age as a form of physical therapy, and now it’s taking her all the way to the Paris Paralympic Games.

Earlier this year, during the Paralympic team trials in May, she broke the Canadian record in the S14 class 100 meter backstroke. She also holds records in the 400 meter individual medley and the 200 meter butterfly.

Van Dyk also rows at a high level and often competes with her sister, according to the Canadian Paralympic CommitteeShe also worked for Parks Canada at Fort George in Niagara-on-the-Lake as a player in the War of 1812 reenactment.

On September 6, she will participate in the women’s 100 meter backstroke.

Melanie Hawtin: Wheelchair basketball, Oakville/Hamilton

Melanie Hawtin was born in Hamilton and grew up in Oakville, Ontario. She competed as a wheelchair racer for many years until surgery forced her to retire in 2012. Hawtin then switched to wheelchair basketball. The Wheelchair Basketball Canada website states that Hawtin competed with the Burlington Vipers club before representing Ontario at the 2013 national women’s championship.

Hawtin, who was born with spina bifida, also competed in the 2016 and 2020 Paralympic Games.

The women’s team’s first match is scheduled for August 28, when they play against China.

Puisand Lai: wheelchair basketball, Toronto/Hamilton

Puisand Lai, an engineering student at McMaster University, will represent Canada in Paris on the wheelchair basketball team.

Lai grew up in Toronto. When she was six years old, she was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a rare neurological disorder.

Paris is not Lai’s first time at the Paralympics. She previously played at the Tokyo 2020 Games, where the Canadian women’s team finished fifth. She hopes that team Canada can bring back a medal this year.

Her mother, Jenny Lai, spoke to CBC Hamilton earlier this month about her expectations for the team.

“I hope the Canadian team makes it to the final, but most of all I want them to have fun and have a very special, unforgettable experience,” said Jenny.

The women’s team’s first match is scheduled for August 28, when they play against China.

How are Canadian athletes preparing for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games?

Brian Hnatiw and Michelle Salt discuss how athletes and CBC are preparing for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on the eve of the Opening Ceremony.