Parksville, B.C.'s Nicholas Bennett, who now calls Red Deer home, was Canada's flag bearer at the closing ceremonies of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris on Sunday.
The local para swimmer was joined by Ottawa's Brianna Hennessy, who won Canada's first-ever medal in the para canoe event, to lead Canada as organizers officially closed the Paralympic Games.
“Being the flag bearer is such a monumental occasion,” said Bennett in a media release.
“Being able to hold the flag and represent all the athletes that have competed is just another level of amazement for me that I have been able to achieve at these Paralympics.”
Bennett won three medals in four of his races, winning two gold and a silver. The Red Deer Catalina Swim Club athlete won his first silver medal on Aug. 31 when he came in second during the men's 200-metre freestyle S14 in 1:53.61.
He followed that up two days later with a gold medal in the men's 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:03.98, which was over one second faster than Australia's Jake Michel.
On Sept. 4 he claimed his second gold medal with a first-place finish in the men's 200m medley SM14 in 2:06.05, which was over two seconds after than Great Britain's Rhys Darbey.
In Bennett's fourth and final race he did not qualify for the men's 100m backstroke final after finishing in sixth in heat number six on Sept. 6. With his impressive showing, he became the first Canadian para swimmer to win multiple gold medals at a single games since 2004 and first to claim three since 2012.
“We are so thrilled for Brianna and Nicholas and could not be prouder to have them represent Canada as flag bearers,” said Karolina Wisniewska, co-chef de mission, Paris 2024 Canadian Paralympic Team.
“Their results in Paris speak for themselves, with Nicholas adding his name to Canada’s storied Para swimming history books and Brianna being a trailblazer for podium success in her sport. We cannot wait to be with them in the stadium at the Closing Ceremony and celebrate the entire Canadian Paralympic Team.”
In total, Canada finished the 2024 Paralympic Games with 29 medals, which includes 10 gold, nine silver, and 10 bronze over 11 days of competition.
Canada took home eight more medals than they did at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo when they won 21 but tied their performance of 29 medals in Rio in 2016.
The CBC also reported that more than 11 million Canadians tuned into their broadcast coverage of the Paralympics and spent an average of 1.2 million hours per day watching their coverage. They also reported that 3.2 million Canadians watched and listened to the closing ceremony coverage.
