Marco Dispaltro and Josh Vander Vies in preliminary rounds of BC4 Boccia competitions -
Photo credit: Daniel Marcotte & Canadian Paralympic Committee
 

LONDON, - Sept. 4, 2012 - The Canadian BC4 Boccia team has just succeeded in bringing home the Bronze Medal,  the first Paralympic medal ever won by BC4 Canadian players in boccia at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Sarnia Native Josh Vander Vies (Vancouver, BC) and partner Marco Dispaltro (St-Jérôme, QC) won 8-2 against Great-Britain McGuire brothers. Canada crushed their opponents in the first end by scoring four points. Great-Britain tried to reciprocate but scored only one point in the second end. Dispaltro and Vander Vies remained calm in the third end and scored an additional 4 points in front of Canadian delighted fans.

"It feels so good. In the third end, when we scored four points, I knew we would win the match." Said Vander Vies. "I delayed telling Marco what the score was so he could see from the referee. We were both delighted."

"I was in my zone today. We played strong, we played fast and it worked out." Said Dispaltro. "It's unbelievable to go back home with a medal. But it's not over. We will win more." Individual competitions will start tomorrow, on September 5.

In earlier competition starting on September 2 Vander Vies and Dispaltro defeated Thailand 6 - 1, and defeated Great Britan 4 - 1.

On September 3 they won 4-3 in their preliminary round against Slovakia, securing their spot in the semi-final match against Czech Republic.

Dispaltro and Vander Vies played a nail-biter semi. The two players scored one point per end for the three first ends, dominating the game. In the fourth end, the Czech bounced back by scoring three points to tie the score. Canada was defeated in the last minute of the extra end, securing them a spot in the bronze medal game.

It is the first Paralympic medal for Vander Vies and Dispaltro. The medal ceremony will happen this afternoon at 3:30pm local London time. (10:30 ET)