Zak Madell: The Wheelchair Rugby Player Hoping To Help Grow The Sport β™ΏπŸ‰πŸ

Published: Aug 28, 2024 Duration: 00:02:28 Category: Sports

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We take a lot of pride in wheelchair rugby in Canada. Because the sport originated on home soil in Winnipeg in the 70s. Yeah, every time we play it, we kind of keep that in the back of our mind. We've got a legacy that we're trying to create for Canada. I've been playing for 13 years now, and I think we have 40 plus countries around the world playing, but I think we need to continue to, to grow the sport, get some exposure. I've never met a fan who's watched the game or spectators watch the game and not immediately fallen in love with it. I knew when I started playing that there was a chance that I might get to go to the London Paralympics, but when the time hit, it all happened so quickly. I was just super grateful to be there and trying to take it all in as much as possible, and I had a great group of guys to thank for that. Rio was definitely a tough pill to swallow. We came in ranked number one in the world had the weight of the world on our shoulders. All kinds of pressure and expectations, and so falling just shy of a medal was definitely a tough one for Tokyo. We were just happy the games were even happening. There was so much uncertainty around that. This time around, I'm just trying to stop and smell the roses and make the most out of the whole Paralympic experience. Enjoy Paris and hopefully put on a good show for some rugby fans while we're at it. It used to be 3 or 4 teams could podium at each major event, and now any of the top six, seven, maybe even eight teams could end up winning the medal of these games. So I think that speaks more to the growth of the sport internationally. We're gonna do everything we can to get back on top this time around. It's been a little while since we've faced that in Canada. I think the boys are hungry to get back on top, and we know it's not going to be easy. We have USA straight out of the gates. Long time rival. Both them and Japan are ranked ahead of us in our pool. But, we're not going to let anybody have an easy game, so hopefully we can make it to that semifinal and bring home something shiny for Canada.

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