North Bay’s Rob Shaw is heading to Paris later this summer.
The Canadian Paralympic Committee and Tennis Canada has announced Shaw has been nominated to represent Canada in wheelchair tennis at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
It will be Shaw’s second consecutive Paralympic appearance, with officials saying he’s looking to improve upon his opening round defeat in his debut at Tokyo 2020.
“Qualifying for my second Paralympic Games is the result of a lot of hard work and a lot of support from the team around me,” says Shaw. “COVID drastically impacted my experience in Tokyo, so I am really looking forward to being part of the Games as they were meant to be this time around. Until then I plan on training and preparing as hard as I possibly can to ensure that my performance at the Games is as high quality as it possibly can be.”
A two-time Parapan Am Games medalist, the 34-year-old won gold at the Lima 2019 Games and silver at Santiago 2023, where he was Canada’s co-flag bearer for the opening ceremony.
Shaw is currently ranked world No. 9 in the quad singles division and won his first singles title of the season this past weekend at the German Open in Berlin.
He was also runner-up at the Royan Open in France in June.
The wheelchair tennis tournament in Paris will take place on the red clay courts of Roland Garros, with quad singles starting Aug. 31.
“I am so thrilled to welcome Rob to the Canadian Paralympic Team,” said Karolina Wisniewska, co-chef de mission, Paris 2024 Canadian Paralympic Team. “Rob is such an incredible athlete and ambassador for his sport, representing Canada so well on the international stage. The entire team will be cheering him on in Paris.”
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will take place Aug. 28 to Sep. 8.
Canada is expecting to send a team of approximately 130 athletes with the approved final roster to be announced closer to the start of the Games.
