Paraplegic athlete becomes honorary participant in Canada Games' kayak race

Max Arsenault refused to let his wheelchair comebetween him and the water at the 2017 Canada Summer Games on Friday.

With a crowd of peoplecheering him on, the New Brunswickparaplegicathletefulfilled his lifelong dream of competing in the200-metre kayak race at the games in Winnipeg.

Arsenault, a 16-year-old from Rothesay,became aparaplegicabout a year and a half ago, after asnow boardingaccident atPoleyMountain just outside Sussex.

Friday's race was his third time out on the water since the accident.

It really means everything to me.-MaxArsenault

"I really feel at home out there," said Arsenault, who started paddling at seven.

"After I had my first surgery and my parents were talking to meabout how serious the injury was, I think I remember just looking at them and saying, 'Well I'm still going to go for the Olympics forkayaking,'" he said while sharing his story after the race.

"That's still a goal of mine and I hope I can achieve that."

• 'I am so proud of him': Swimmer with autism wins 2 medals at Canada Games
• Brother-sister tennis team from Fredericton heads to Canada Games
• Liam Turgeon wins first N.B. medal at Canada Games

Arsenaultsaid several peoplerallied together to gather special parts for his kayak on Thursday.

They also askedfor special permission from each team competing,to allowhim to participate in the race, he said.

"It was incredible to find out that I actually could do that," he said. "It really means everything to me."

Arsenaultsaid he also used to play hockey and participated in a track and field shot put event last week, beating his personal best.

"Before I got hurt, I was the exact same way, I pretty much did every sport that I could," he said.

"I'm still trying to track down anyadaptive sportI can try out."

Medals on the horizon

Only three days are left atthe 2017 Canada Games, and there are stillmedals within reach of Team New Brunswick.

So far, the team has racked up12 medals since the games first started on July 28.

Earlier this week, New Brunswickswimmers added fourmedals to the tally to start the second week of competition at the games.

BruceMacFarlane, media liaison for the team, said swimmers are also competing Friday night.

"The last time New Brunswick won a medal inthe pool dates back to 2001," he said.

In golf, Fredericton'sCalvin Ross isin second place, only three shots behind the leader and is competing in Friday's final round.Meanwhile, the men's team is sitting in third place, five shots behind second place.

The women's volleyball team also has a crucial semifinal gameagainst Alberta. If New Brunswick wins, the team will head to a gold medal match on Saturday. If it loses, New Brunswick will compete in a bronze medal match.

Individual wrestling matches will also take place Friday, and a win forTeam New Brunswick will take the team to Friday night's medal round.

In girls wrestling, the team finished fifth on Thursday night.

"We always do good in wrestling," MacFarlanesaid.

The women's softball team will also play QuebecFriday afternoon.

In tennis, Team New Brunswick is sitting in fifth place, the highest the team has ever placed.

"They've always finished closed to the bottom," he said. "We've seen such an improvement in our tennis."

About 400 people are representing New Brunswick at the 17-day Canada Games, including athletes, coaches and managers.

The games run until Sunday.