September 20, 2014 (Toronto, ON) – Athletes in para-alpine skiing, para-Nordic skiing and wheelchair curling took centre stage on Sept. 19 as stars of the Sochi 2014 Canadian Paralympic Team and the broader Canadian Paralympic movement were fêted at the 2014 Canadian Paralympic Sport Awards ceremony.

McKeever (l) and Nishikawa win gold ©

The Paralympic Sport Awards celebrate top athletes, recognizing their achievements from the most recent Paralympic Games, in addition to honouring and recognizing the contribution of coaches.

“There were so many outstanding performances in Sochi and plenty of deserving athletes and coaches for these awards,” said Gaétan Tardif, President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee. “I’d like to congratulate today’s recipients as well as the entire Canadian Paralympic Team for an outstanding performance in Sochi.”

The Canadian Paralympic Team placed third in the gold medal count in Sochi with 16 medals – seven gold, two silver and seven bronze.

“The commitment, dedication and spirit shown by our athletes in Sochi are an inspiration to all Canadians,” said the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport). “We are proud to support the Canadian Paralympic Team and celebrate its remarkable achievements.”

Canada's Klebl and McKeever all smiles with GOLD ©

The 2014 Sport Award recipients are:

– Best Games Debut: para-alpine skiers Mac Marcoux (Sault-Ste-Marie, Ont.) and guide Robin Fémy (Mont-Tremblant, Que.) blazed to a brilliant debut in Sochi, winning one gold and two bronze medals in visually-impaired para-alpine skiing; Marcoux was just 16 years old.

– Best Team Performance: The Canadian Wheelchair Curling Team won its third straight Paralympic Games gold medal with their win in Sochi, setting records along the way for most points and largest margin of victory.

– Best Male Athlete: Brian McKeever (Canmore, Alta.) and guides Erik Carleton (Canmore, Alta.) and Graham Nishikawa (Whitehorse, Yukon) combined to win three gold medals in visually-impaired para-Nordic skiing in Sochi; McKeever was Canada’s most decorated athlete at these Games.

– Best Female Athlete: Two-time Paralympian wheelchair curler Ina Forrest (Armstrong, B.C.) used her trademark accuracy and mental focus in her position as Second to help Canada win the wheelchair curling gold medal in Sochi. Forrest also won wheelchair curling Paralympic gold in Vancouver 2010.

– Para-Development Coach: Teacher Mari Ellery (Toronto, Ont.) has been coaching parasport for over 30 years; her work at the development level in para-canoe has translated in to national and international success for several of her athletes.

– Tim Frick Paralympic Coach Excellence: Head coach of the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team, Jean Sébastien Labrie (Plessisville, Que.) built a strong culture of performance on the team and guided his squad to eight medals in Sochi, representing half of Canada’s total medal haul at the Games.

“Sochi was a great experience. Our whole team came together really strongly, everybody did a great job, from coaching and support staff wax techs, everybody raised their level. The fact that we had two excellent guides certainly made my job much easier. I know they’re going to give me their best. It’s a team effort as opposed to individual, so this award is more about coaches, our wax techs and our guides than it is about me,” said McKeever.

Biographies and photos of Sport Awards recipients are available here.
Videos of each recipient can be viewed here.