Joel Ewert’s first day on the Paralympics wheelchair rugby court Thursday in Paris did not unfold as he had hoped.
The 24-year-old Prince George native watched from the sidelines as the Americans rolled to a 53-48 win over Ewert’s Canadian team in their opener at the eight-team tournament.
Zak Madell of Edmonton, playing in his fourth Paralympic Games, had a game-high 31 tries for Canada, while Cody Caldwell of Peterborough, Ont., contributed five tries in a losing effort.
The U.S. team, ranked second in the world, took advantage of four first-quarter turnovers to jump to an early lead. Chuck Aoki, with 21 tries, paced the American attack.
In wheelchair rugby, teams of four players each compete against each other on the floor. Players score a try if they cross the line of the eight-metre wide goal with both wheels while carrying the ball.
The loss puts Canada into a must-win situation on Friday (8:30 a.m. PDT) when they face Germany in preliminary round play.
Only the top two teams in each pool will advance to the semifinal round following Saturday’s games to determine the medal matchups.
Canada will face Japan on Saturday.
