Des étoiles montantes dans le parasport canadien en 2025

OTTAWA – With the 2024 Paralympic Games months in the rear-view mirror, a new batch of Canadian Para athlete talent emerged or continued to develop in 2025 to already set the stage for future Games.

Here are five Para athletes to watch for on the road to the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

Mary Jibb, Muskoka, Ont.

At 18, Jibb became the youngest Canadian swimmer to win three or more medals in a single edition of the Para swimming world championships since Aurélie Rivard captured five at age 17 in 2013.

In her worlds debut this past September in Singapore, Jibb claimed three medals, with gold in the women’s 200m individual medley SM9 in Americas record time and a bronze in the S9 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke.

Last March, Jibb moved from Ontario to the west coast to train with the Pacific Sea Wolves coached by JyLawrence in Surrey, B.C.

“We moved halfway across the country six months ago to train with PSW. I have to thank my mom and my sister for moving out there with me, to support me and support my dreams,’’ said Jibb, who had a stroke during her childhood.

Katie Pegg, Markham, Ont.

The 21-year-old Pegg, from Markham, Ont., took bronze in the women’s F46 shotput with a throw of 12.76 metres to earn Canada its first field event medal at the 2025 Para athletics world championships in New Delhi.

“I just went out there, threw a heavy ball really far and I had fun,” said Pegg, born without a radial bone in her right forearm. “I didn’t put too much pressure on myself. I knew walking in that I was ready.

“We’ve been working so hard to get to this every day.”

Pegg reached 12 metres for the first time in competition at worlds and bettered that mark on five of her six throws, with her personal best result coming on her final attempt.

Daniel Comeau, Shannon, Que.

Comeau combined forces with Paralympian Kyle Tremblay of Deep River, Ont. for a remarkable fourth-place finish in the compound men’s open doubles wheelchair event at the Para archery world championships in late September.

In addition, Comeau was the top Canadian individually placing 17th.

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‘’It was my first worlds and I’m very pleased. I know a top eight is a realistic goal individually and as a team we can reach the podium,’’ said Comeau, a military veteran who served in Bosnia and Afghanistan and took up the sport two years ago.

For his part, Tremblay burst into the spotlight at the 2023 Parapan American Games. He won the bronze medal and earned a quota spot for Canada for Paris 2024 which he would fulfill that summer.

Gavin Baggs, St. John’s N.L.

Canada’s most versatile athlete in 2025 was possibly Gavin Baggs of St. John’s N.L. The 18-year-old was one of the big stars at the Canada Games held in his hometown with multi-medal performances in Para swimming and Para athletics.

In the pool, he won his province’s first medal at those Games with silver in the men’s Para swimming 400m freestyle. On the track he added a gold in the men’s 1500m wheelchair races and silver in the 100 and 400.

Baggs was named Newfoundland & Labrador’s flag bearer for the closing ceremony.

‘’It was unreal. We don’t get a lot of big national competitions in Newfoundland; we usually have to travel away, so being able to compete with the best athletes in the country in my hometown with a hometown crowd was unreal.’’

But that wasn’t all. Baggs is also in contention for a berth on Canada’s Para ice hockey team for the upcoming Paralympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina, Italy.

‘’Para hockey is the sport I’ve been doing the longest,’’ he told CPC at the Hockey Canada media summit in August. ‘’I’ve been taking it the most serious and I’ve gotten to the highest level with it. I love swimming and track, but for me, Para hockey just takes the cake.’’

Ibrahim Odza, wheelchair basketball

Ibrahin Odza is only 16 years old but he made a giant impact in 2025 as member of Canada’s senior national team, U23 national team, and youth national team in wheelchair basketball.

Odza scored a game-high 27 points, five assists, and four rebounds to lead Canada to a 61-54 victory over Argentina for the gold medal at the Youth Parapan American Games held this past October in Santiago.

The Macedonian-born Toronto teen was already a big part of the men’s U23 team. At the 2025 IWBF U23 World Championships in São Paulo, he scored 19 points and added six assists in a game against Brazil.

And at the 2025 IWBF Americas Cup, he led the senior men’s national team with 16 points in the bronze medal game that Canada lost by one point to Colombia.

Odza was diagnosed with a cavernoma on his spine, a benign tumor, at age 12.