Josh Vander Vies (born December 28, 1984) 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.
Vander Vies was born on December 28, 1984, in Sarnia, Ontario [1] to parents Gary and Sandy. He was born without fully formed arms or legs. [2] He is a graduate of High Park French Immersion School and Northern Collegiate Institute. He earned a diploma in general arts and science from Lambton College before enrolling at the University of Western Ontario. [3]
Vander Vies made his international debut in Boccia at the 2003 World Cup in Christchurch, New Zealand. [4] Following this, he qualified for the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens but failed to medal in his debut. [5] He was then elected to the International Boccia Committee as an Athlete Representative [6] and competed at the 2006 Boccia World Championships. [4] As a law student at the University of British Columbia, [6] Vander Vies also competed internationally at the 2010 World Championship and 2011 World Cup. [4] In 2010, he was appointed one of 25 torch bearers prior to the 2010 Winter Paralympics. [7]
After failing to qualify for the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Vander Vies returned to the Paralympics in 2012 for doubles boccia. He played boccia Mixed Pairs-BC4 alongside Marco Dispaltro and won a bronze medal against Great Britain by a score of 8–2. [8] Following the Games, Vander Vies retired from the sport but remained president of Athletes CAN, the association of Canada's national team athletes. [4]
In 2020, Vander Vies was named Canada's assistant chef de mission during the 2020 Summer Paralympics. [9] The following year, he announced he was running for the Liberal Party in the riding of Vancouver East at the next federal election. [10] The election was held on September 20, 2021; Vander Vies came second to incumbent New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan.