Canada’s Paralympians start heading to London

TORONTO – As Canada’s Olympians return home, another crop of athletes is heading to London.

Canada has named its team for the Paralympics, which begin Aug. 29.

Some 145 athletes will suit up in 15 sports for Canada.

Members of the team include wheelchair racers Josh Cassidy, Michelle Stilwell and Diane Roy.

Cassidy won the Boston Marathon last spring while Stilwell is a triple gold medallist and Roy is a five-time medallist.

Canadian chef de mission Gaetan Tardif says the goal is to finish in the top eight in the overall medal count.

He calls Canada’s Paralympians “super athletes who will make Canada proud.”

Tracey Ferguson, a three-time gold medallist with the Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball team, says she’s ready for her sixth Games.

“It never gets old,” the 38-year-old Ferguson said before boarding a plane for London. “If anything it gets more exciting … It’s a huge sense of pride.”

The Paralympics will be held in many of the same London venues used for Summer Games, which wrapped up Sunday.