Patrick Anderson, a local athlete continuing to put wheelchair basketball on the map, will compete in his sixth Paralympic Games next week. It will also be his last.
Considered one of the greatest wheelchair basketball players ever, Anderson was raised in Fergus first competed in the Paralympics in 2000. Over his career he has won gold medals – Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and London 2012 – and a silver medal at Bejing 2008.
Now 45, Anderson said the experience has been different but that hasn't stopped him from working hard to stay motivated post-Olympics as he waits for the games to begin.
"Going way back (to my first games) we definitely knew we had a chance to win a gold medal and we knew we were one of the best teams there. We were very confident. We were young, we were hungry, we hadn’t won anything yet," said Anderson on a Zoom call from Europe. The basketball event starts next week.
"This team is also kind of young and hungry but we’re definitely the middle of the pack and...we have to take it one step at a time and get better as the tournament goes on."
Looking forward to next week, Anderson said while he knows he should be going for gold, the team hasn't made it to a semi-final yet at a major event and it would mean a lot to get past the quarterfinals this year.
Scoring 23 points and 12 rebounds, Anderson helped the Canada men's team qualify for this year's games at the Men's IWBF Repechage Tournament in April with a 72-60 victory over Italy.
In 2023, Anderson was a top scorer and helped snag a bronze medal for Team Canada at the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games, which also secured a spot for Paris.
“Personally I want to win anytime I get up there,” said Anderson. “We’ve come close…but we haven’t been able to get past the quarterfinals so it’d be really fun to really get into a semi and see what happens.”
Currently in Paris with his wife and three children, Anderson said this is his wife's second Paralympics and his kid's first and he intends to tap into their excitement when he plays for Canada.
Post-Paralympics, Anderson said he's not 100 per cent sure what he's going to do but intends to find a way to give back to the game of wheelchair basketball after all that it has given him.
When not playing wheelchair basketball, Anderson said he enjoys motivational public speaking and creating music with his wife and their band the Lay Awakes.
"In this last stage of my career, I’m grateful that I’ve hung around long enough to meet and play with and against a new generation of great talent," said Anderson. "Not just witness the evolution of the game but be a part of it, be in the mix and bang up against these athletes that I really admire and enjoy watching."
Canada will open the games in Pool A against France on Aug. 30.
Wheelchair basketball tournaments will happen from Aug. 29-Sept. 8 at Bercy Arena in Paris.
Preliminary rounds will conclude Sept. 2 and quarterfinals are scheduled for Sept. 3.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
