Canadian wheelchair tennis player Rob Shaw is shown in a Jan. 20, 2023 handout photo. Para cyclist Shelley Gautier and Shaw have been named Canada's flag-bearers for the opening ceremony of the Santiago Parapan Am Games. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Alexis Shareck/Tennis Canada *MANDATORY CREDIT*
SANTIAGO, Chile – Para cyclist Shelley Gautier and wheelchair tennis player Rob Shaw have been named Canada’s flag-bearers for the opening ceremony of the Santiago Parapan Am Games.
Gautier, from Niagara Falls, Ont., is an 18-time world champion. She won two bronze medals in both the T1 road race and time trial at the cycling world championships this summer.
This will be her third Parapan Am Games, after Guadalajara 2011 and Toronto 2015. She holds two Parapan Am silver medals. The 55-year-old is a three-time Paralympian (2012, 2016, 2020) with a bronze medal from Rio 2016.
Shaw, the world No. 9 in the singles quad division, is the defending Parapan Am gold medallist after winning the title at the Lima Games four years ago.
The 33-year-old, who now lives in Kelowna, B.C., was the first Canadian tennis player – standing or wheelchair – to win a medal in singles at a multi-sport Games.
He owns 22 International Tennis Federation singles and 22 ITF doubles titles in his career, and made his Paralympic Games debut at Tokyo 2020.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2023.
