| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | The Dragon Slayer |
| Born | August 2, 1967 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Home town | Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, Canada |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Sport | Boccia |
| Disability | Muscular dystrophy |
| Disability class | BC4 |
Marco Dispaltro (born August 2, 1967) is a Canadian boccia player who competes at international elite competitions. He is a Paralympic bronze medalist in the pairs with Josh Vander Vies and a Parapan American Games champion in the individual events. [1] [2]
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 only two Paralympic sports that have no counterpart in the Olympic program.
Boccia has been contested at the Summer Paralympics since the 1984 Games in New York City and Stoke Mandeville. Five boccia events were held at those games, two for men, two for women, and one mixed event where men and women competed together. Since then, all boccia events at the Paralympics have been mixed. Athletes in this sport have cerebral palsy and are given a classification according to the extent of their disability. There were originally two classes, C1 and C2, with C1 corresponding to those with more severe impairment. In 1996 a "C1 with aid device" class was added, and in 2000 the system was changed to have four classes, BC1 through BC4.
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.
Lynette Coleman was an Australian Paralympic boccia player, athlete and swimmer with cerebral palsy.
BC2 is a Paralympic boccia classification. The class is open to people with several different types of disabilities, including cerebral palsy. BC2 players have events open to them in boccia on the Paralympic Games program.
BC3 is a Paralympic boccia classification. The class is open to people with several different types of disabilities, including cerebral palsy. BC3 players have events open to them in boccia on the Paralympic Games program.
Boccia classification is the classification system governing boccia, a sport designed specifically for people with disabilities. Classification is handled by Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association. There are four classifications for this sport. All four classes are eligible to compete at the Paralympic Games.
Pedro Cordero Martín is a Spanish boccia player. He represented Spain at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Paralympics, winning a bronze medal at both the 2004 and 2008 games in the BC1-BC2 boccia team event.
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.
Australia participated at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021. It sent its largest away team - 179 athletes to a Summer Paralympics. Australia finished eighth on the gold medal table and sixth on the total medals table.
Arlene Aikenhead is a Canadian Paralympic equestrian and boccia player from Alberta.
Boccia at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, took place at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre. There were expected to be 116 qualification slots across eight mixed events: four individual events, two pairs events and one team event.
Thailand competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics from 24 August to 5 September 2021. This was the country's tenth appearance at the Paralympic Games.
Belgium competed in the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan from 25 August to 6 September.
Canada competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
Portugal competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
Paul Gauthier is a Canadian retired boccia player who competed in international elite competitions. He was the first Canadian Paralympic champion in boccia when he won the individual BC3 and won two bronze medals with Alison Kabush in the mixed pairs.
Pornchok Larpyen is a Thai boccia player who represented Thailand at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics.
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.
Kirsten De Laender is a Belgian Paralympian. Her first Paralympics was London 2012, where she won a bronze medal in boccia for mixed pairs BC3. De Laender also competed in the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
