Arlene Aikenhead is a Canadian Paralympic equestrian and boccia player from Alberta. [1]
She competed in the 1984 Summer Paralympics and won silver in mixed dressage, Elementary walk C1-2, [2] and bronze in Obstacle course - Walk C1-3.[ citation needed ]
Boccia is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – bottia. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes with severe physical disabilities. It was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy but now includes athletes with other severe disabilities affecting motor skills. In 1984, it became a Paralympic sport and as of 2020, 75 boccia national organizations have joined one or more of the international organizations. Boccia is governed by the Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed) and is one of two Paralympic sports that have no counterpart in the Olympic program, although it is a Paralympic variant of bocce (boules).
Norway sent a delegation of 24 competitors, to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, from September 6 to September 17, 2008.
Aikenhead is a Scots language surname of medieval Scottish origin. Its oldest public record dates to 1372, when Robert II granted the lands of "Akynheuide" in Lanark to John de Maxwell, and in the same year, Convallus de Akinhead was recorded as witness to another land grant.
Boccia has been contested at the Summer Paralympics since the 1984 Games in New York City and Stoke Mandeville.
Boccia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics was held in the ExCeL from 2 September to 8 September, with a maximum of 104 athletes competing in seven events. There were four individual events, two pair events, and one team event.
Great Britain competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012 as the host nation. A total of 288 athletes were selected to compete along with 13 other team members such as sighted guides. The country finished third in the medals table, behind China and Russia, winning 120 medals in total; 34 gold, 43 silver and 43 bronze. Multiple medallists included cyclist Sarah Storey and wheelchair athlete David Weir, who won four gold medals each, and swimmer Stephanie Millward who won a total of five medals. Storey also became the British athlete with the most overall medals, 22, and equal-most gold medals, 11, in Paralympic Games history.
Tu Huynh is an Australian boccia Paralympian. He was born in Tay Ninh, Vietnam.
Lynette Coleman was an Australian Paralympic boccia player, athlete and swimmer with cerebral palsy.
Tom Leahy is a paralympic athlete from Ireland competing mainly in category BC2 Boccia events and F32 throwing events. Leahy competed in eight Paralympic Games. He won three Paralympic gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals.
Para-equestrian is an equestrian sport governed by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), and includes two competitive events. One is para-equestrian dressage, which is conducted under the same basic rules as conventional dressage, but with riders divided into different competition grades based on their functional abilities. The other is para-equestrian driving, which operates under the same basic rules as combined driving but places competitors in various grades based on their functional abilities.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland competed, under the name Great Britain, at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. The first places for which the team qualified were for six athletes in sailing events.
Daniel Michel is an Australian boccia player. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. He won the bronze medal in the Mixed B3 at the Tokyo Paralympics. He won two gold medals at the 2022 World Championships.
Henrik Jorgensen is a Danish Paralympic athlete and boccia player who has competed in five Paralympic Games.
Russell Cecchini is a paralympic athlete from Canada competing mainly in category C1 events.
Terry Hudson is a paralympic athlete from Great Britain competing mainly in category C1 events.
David "Shoeless Joe" Barefoot is a paralympic athlete from Canada competing mainly in category C1 events.
Deborah Willows is a paralympic athlete from Canada competing mainly in category C1 events.
Ross Wilson is a Canadian para-cyclist.
Worawut Saengampa is a Thai boccia player who represented Thailand at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics. He, along with his three teammates, won a gold medal in Boccia in the Mixed Team BC1–2 event. He also won another silver medal in the individual event.
Josh Vander Vies is a Canadian lawyer and former Paralympic athlete. He won a bronze medal for doubles boccia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London before retiring.