Beijing 2022 Day 1 Preview: Canadian Paralympic Team set to begin competition

• Round-robin play starts in Para ice hockey and wheelchair curling
• Downhill races in Para alpine skiing; Para nordic skiing starts with biathlon

BEIJING, March 4, 2022 /CNW/ - The Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games officially began on Friday, with Ina Forrest and Greg Westlake carrying the flag for Canada into the Opening Ceremony. The attention now turns to the field of play, with four of five sports in action on Day 1 of the competition on Saturday March 5:  

Para Alpine Skiing
Canada's Para alpine skiing team, including 2018 medallists Mollie Jepsen, Mac Marcoux, Alana Ramsay, and Alexis Guimond, will contend in the downhill races. Canada will have three entrants in the women's standing event ? Jepsen, Ramsay, and Michaela Gosselin ? and two in the men's visually impaired classification ? Marcoux (with guide Tristan Rodgers) and Logan Leach (with guide Julien Petit). Rounding out the team is men's standing skier Guimond and sit skiers Katie Combaluzier in the women's division and Brian Rowland in the men's. Marcoux is the defending gold medallist in this event, but it will be his first race of the 2021-22 season, having returned from injury to compete in Beijing. Jepsen holds a bronze in this event from 2018. Racing starts at 10 a.m. local / 9 p.m. ET Friday.

Para Nordic Skiing
The first event in Para nordic skiing is the six-kilometre Para biathlon race. Seven Canadians will be competing, starting with the three sit ski athletes ? Collin Cameron and Derek Zaplotinsky in the men's race and Christina Picton in the women's starting at 10 a.m. local / 9 p.m. ET Friday. They will be followed by their teammates in the men's and women's standing classification ? Mark Arendz, Natalie Wilkie, Emily Young, and Brittany Hudak at 12:15 p.m. local / 11:15 p.m. ET Friday. Both Cameron and Arendz were multi-medallists in Para biathlon four years ago.

Para Ice Hockey
Round-robin play begins in Para ice hockey, with Canada set to take on its biggest rival in the sport ? USA. Led by captain Tyler McGregor, flag bearer Westlake and now six-time Paralympian Billy Bridges, Canada will look for a strong start to the tournament. Canada, who lost to the USA in the gold medal game four years ago, is currently ranked No. 2 in the world behind the Americans. Game time is 1:05 p.m. local / 12:05 a.m. ET.

Wheelchair Curling
Team Canada, including flag bearer Forrest and skip Mark Ideson, will kick off its wheelchair curling campaign with two games. The squad opens against reigning Paralympic and world champions China at 2:35 p.m. local / 1:35 a.m. ET. At the 2018 Games, Canada captured bronze, ending on a high note after falling to China in the semifinals. Next up, Canada will challenge Switzerland at 7:35 p.m. local / 6:35 a.m. ET. The Swiss finished 12^th at the 2021 world championships to Canada's fifth place.

COMPLETE SCHEDULE

CLICK HERE for the complete Canadian Paralympic Team schedule on March 5. 

HOW TO WATCH

All Canadian competition can be live streamed as it happens. Live streams can be found on Paralympic.ca, CPC's YouTube channel, cbc.ca/beijing2022 and Radio-Canada.ca/jeux-paralympiques, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the Radio-Canada Sports app, and CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. Anyone wishing to catch up on the action afterwards can also watch events on-demand on these platforms, as well as Amazon Prime Video.  

March 5 Canadian TV Broadcasts:

CBC Late Night ? 12:30 a.m. ET / 9:30 p.m. March 4 PT
CBC Morning ? 6 a.m. ET / 3 a.m. PT
CBC Daytime ? 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT
Sportsnet One ? 10 a.m. ET
Radio-Canada ? 3 p.m. ET
*please check local listings*

Click here for the complete broadcast schedule.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Resources to cover the Beijing 2022 Canadian Paralympic Team, including athlete bios, flash quotes, photos, and video highlights, will be available at Paralympic.ca/beijing-2022-media. 

Follow @CDNParalympics for the most up-to-date news

About the Canadian Paralympic Team: A total of 48 athletes will be competing for Canada in five sports at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, taking place March 4-13. 

About the Canadian Paralympic Committee: Paralympic.ca

MEDIA CONTACTS

LIST OF MEDIA CONTACTS BY SPORT
For interview requests with the athletes during the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter, please contact the specific sport media attaché.

SOURCE Canadian Paralympic Committee (Sponsorships)