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Preparation for the 2016 Paralympic Championships
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During the Variety Village Demonstration at the Markham Pan Am Centre, we took the time to talk with 2016 Paralympian Stephanie Chan and her Para National Team Coach John Macpherson. It is always great to get some insights from Athletes and Coaches that participate in the biggest Multi Sport Events hosted every 4 years.
Stephanie Chan will be playing the Slovenia and Slovakia in May. In July she will be practicing with Para National Team Coach John Macpherson before going to the USA Training Paralympic Training camp in the US.
Stephanie, how are you preparing for the Paralympic Games?
I will play more Table Tennis every day. My practice will be 2-3 hours per day with whom is sparring partners that are better than me. Also, I will walk every night for about 1.5 hours. Then I will get some rest.
What is your goal for the Paralympic Games?
The Bronze Medal is my goal. All the other players are younger than me. The European and Asian Players are very good.
Are you already getting excited about the fact that you will be in Rio in about 5 month?
A little bit. It is almost like preparing for the Para Pan American Games. No extra excitement, but yesterday my son told me that he wants to go to Brazil to watch the competition. That does not add any pressure. I am looking forward to playing against the European and Chinese Players.
We also asked John Macpherson a few questions. What is the goal for this weeks training camp?
Our goal is to continue our development model and work on the players that we have. Our hope is to have them go back to their respective clubs working with their coaches and becoming more profession with their basic stokes. So they can be at some point of time to travel to tournaments and receive the results.
Are you excited about going to Rio?
Yes. I have been in Rio several times. I think we are in good shape. Stephanie Chan is our only representative and we anticipate good results.
What is the expectations that you and Stephanie have for Rio?
I would like to see her get out of the round robin. If that is the case, I believe there are only eight players, that will put her in the medal round. We will see after that. However, I won't put pressure on her to win a medal. She is ranked the 10th in the world and it's the best position any of our players ever had. Chances are good in this case. Without putting too much pressure. We hope for the good results.
This will be your … Paralympic Games? How is it different from all the other ones?
I played Sydney in 2000. 8 years later in 2008, I went to Beijing with Ian Kent and Martin Pellitier as a coach. This will be my third time. It is the first time we have a Canadian female Table Tennis player in the Paralympic Games. Hopefully we will have more players to represent Canada in the future.
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