Sudbury athlete wins silver for Canada at Parapan Am Games

North Bay tennis star to be flag bearer A Canadian wheelchair tennis star from North Bay will be a Team Canada flagbearer at the upcoming Parapan American Games.

Lance Cryderman of Sudbury won a silver medal in boccia at the Parapan Am Games on Wednesday in Santiago, Chile.

It was part of nine medal wins, Canada’s biggest medal day yet as the Games hit the midway mark.

Canada’s Alison Levine took gold, while Danik Allard also won boccia silver.

“Canada won four boccia medals, led by Alison Levine’s gold in the women’s BC4 individual tournament,” said a news release from the Games.

“Winning silver medals are Danik Allard in men’s BC2 and Lance Cryderman in men’s BC1.”

In their respective finals, Allard dropped a 6-1 decision to Brazilian Maciel de Sousa Santos while Cryderman fell 11-0 to Mexican Eduardo Sanchez.

“I’m ecstatic. This game certainly could have gone a bit better, but I am absolutely ecstatic overall,” said Cryderman.

“Yesterday’s match was an awesome match and today he played well, and he deserved that medal. When you give a Top 10 player that kind of room, he’s going to take advantage.”

Boccia is like bocce and similar to curling or lawn bowling. However it’s been adapted for people with severe cerebral palsy or other physical challenges.

Each side has six balls and players propel them towards the target, also called a “jack” ball.

In an interview with CTV last July, Cryderman said boccia participants must meet certain criteria.

“Depending on your function ability, there is a classification system to make sure that you’re competing against those who have similar functional movements so it’s not unfair for you,” Cryderman said.

He’s a Paralympian, accessibility adviser and coach for people living with cerebral palsy.

“There’s a lot of different parasports out there,” he added.

“For someone with my level of function, you’re not going to see me on a wheelchair basketball court. It’s just not accessible for me. Boccia is the most inclusive sport for those of us with severe or significant challenges.”