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Silver lining for Canada, and Hedges |
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Written by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
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Sunday, 05 October 2008 |
Bo Hedges shows off the silver medal he won at the Paralympic Games as part of the Canadian wheelchair basketball team. Canada beat the United States in the semifinal, only to drop the gold-medal game to Australia. Hedges has his sights clearly set on representing Canada at the Paralympics in 2012 in London. (Citizen staff photo)
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UNITED STATES
The native of Fort St. John, a former UNBC student with strong ties to this city beyond his years as a resident, was a proud guest of honour on Sunday. The Paralympic silver medallist, a member of the Canadian men’s wheelchair basketball team, was saluted by about 60 people on Sunday morning at a special brunch hosted at the Coast Inn of the North and orchestrated by PacificSport Northern B.C.
As Hedges, the 28-year-old who now lives and trains in Vancouver, spoke from his chair, the silver medal he won with the national team was being handled and ogled. Hedges was home, as much to take in the adulation as he was to pass out thanks to those who helped him reach the pinnacle of his sport.
“My family went over, including my aunt who lives here, and everyone has been so excited about it,” said Hedges, wearing the same Basketball Canada golf shirt that hangs in the closet of NBA star Steve Nash.
“My girlfriend and I went to Thailand after the Games, then to Hong Kong, and we just got back to Canada on Thursday. We’ll head up to Fort St. John to see more family and there is a dinner there on Thursday.”
Hedges, who will visit some local elementary schools today, couldn’t say enough about the entire Beijing experience.
“All of the events leading into it -- everything was amazing,” said Hedges, who lost the use of his legs 15 years ago when he fell out of a tree.
“We were there for a week at one of the Paralympic facilities they’ve built over there, and it was world-class. They have 15 or 16 of those over there, with two courts for basketball and volleyball, and facilities for archery, track... just for Paralympics and that’s on top of their Olympic facilities. It’s all accessible and all new.
“When we moved into the athletes’ village, we had another week to prepare. We were in the big Birds Nest for the opening ceremonies and that was quite a show they put on. Wheeling in there and seeing 90,000 fans, seeing it packed, that was great.”
Hedges was in Beijing in January as part of the team’s training schedule and got to take in some sightseeing then, which allowed him and the team to focus on the event during the Games.
“They did a lot of work to the city and you could sure see the difference from when we were there in January,” said Hedges.
Hedges was used off the bench for Canada, given a press role on defence and expected to provide a spark when the starters needed a rest. Because one starter fouled out against the United States in the semifinal, Hedges was on the floor for both overtime periods as Canada, a perfect 5-0 in pool play, slipped past the Americans and into the gold medal game.
Canada, drained from the adventure of hitting clutch shots to beat the U.S., lost to Australia and settled for silver. That was better than the fate that awaited the Americans as an emerging team from Great Britain captured bronze.
“We got better as we went along and had a couple of tough games against Japan and Iran,” said Hedges.
“It was pretty good basketball. I got a lot of minutes in that game against the U.S., it was an amazing game. We were down by 20 points and we kept fighting back and hit a three-pointer, and came back in the first overtime and put them away in the second overtime.
“We had a day off, but we were exhausted. We were up for the game, but Australia was very hungry. They’d been losing to Canada for many years and they really wanted it, and we made some mistakes.”
Hedges has a very clear goal in mind -- to play for Canada at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. Before that is a four-team world tournament in Japan in November.
“London is definitely in the picture for four years from now,” he said.
“It’s not that far away, really, so there’s a lot of work to do. Some of the older guys on the team are moving on, so that creates an opportunity to earn a bigger role.”
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 05 October 2008 )
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