A highlight on five remarkable USask athletes that represented Canada at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

The Paralympic Games (commonly known as the Paralympics), organized by the International Paralympic Committee, are an international sporting event hosted for athletes with a range of disabilities. They are organized at the same time as the Olympics which was previously covered by the Sheaf, and are usually held shortly after. This year, the Summer Paralympic Games were held in Paris, France, starting on Wednesday, August 28, and ending on Sunday, September 8. 

Over 4,000 para athletes were chosen to represent their respective countries across 22 sports. The Opening Ceremony was held on August 28, and members of each country’s Paralympic Committee, proudly wearing their flag’s colors, could be seen walking down Avenue des Champs-Elysees. The Canadian Paralympic Team consisted of 126 athletes who represented us in 18 sports, and 31 of them came home with an impressive total of 29 medals (10 gold, nine silver, 10 bronze) obtained across six sports; Para swimming, Para athletics, Para cycling, Para triathlon, Para canoe, and sitting volleyball. The Canadian Paralympic Team boasts some of the best Para athletes in the world. While there are many remarkable talents on the team, this article will focus on the incredible USask students and alumni who filled us with Huskie Pride at the 2024 Summer Paralympics. 

Jacob Wassermann

Born in Humboldt, SK on January 9, 2000, USask College of Education student Jacob Wassermann started out in ice hockey as part of the Humboldt Broncos. After he was paralyzed from the waist down in the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash, Wassermann reportedly tried out multiple sports before 2022, when he began a rapidly blossoming career in Para rowing after attending an open house at the Saskatoon Rowing Club. 

The 2024 Summer Paralympics marked Wassermann’s Paralympic debut. He competed in the PR1 class for spinal cord injuries (“rowers with minimal or no trunk function who primarily propel the boat through arm and shoulder function,” as defined by the Canadian Paralympic Committee) in the Men’s single sculls event, and finished in 10th place in the 2,000 m race. 

Wassermann qualified for the 2024 Paralympics by winning a silver medal at the March 2024 World Rowing Americas Paralympic Qualification Regatta, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as well as a gold medal at the 2023 Canadian Para Rowing Championships. 

Jacob Wassermann (Credit: Canadian Paralympic Committee)

Ashlyn Renneberg

Arts & Science student Ashlyn Renneberg, born in Saskatoon, SK, was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 13 which compromised her vision. She was also involved in sports before her diagnosis. Since then, as a competitor in women’s Para athletics in javelin, she’s already broken the Canadian record in F13 Women’s javelin at the 2024 Grand Prix in Switzerland with a 31.48- meter throw. Renneberg trains with the Saskatoon Track and Field Club.

At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Renneberg placed seventh in that same event with an impressive 30.93- meter throw. 

Accomplishing this much at only 19 years old, many cannot wait to see where Renneberg’s talent and dedication takes her!

Ashlyn Renneberg (Credit: Canadian Paralympic Committee)

Shelby Newkirk

Para swimmer Shelby Newkirk, also a USask College of Education graduate, has an extensive list of career titles and accomplishments. The 28-year-old from Saskatoon, SK, was born into a family of athletes; her mom is a former Huskie basketball player and her brother also plays basketball. Newkirk was involved in multiple sports including volleyball and track until she was diagnosed with dystonia, a movement disorder that causes uncontrollable contraction of the muscles, around age 13, which rendered her unable to use her right foot, and later developed generalized dystonia. She started swimming between 2012 and 2013.

“Among Newkirk’s impressive career titles, she notably set world records in the 50 m backstroke and 100 m backstroke in both 2017 and 2018. These remarkable achievements earned her the title of Swimming Canada Female Para-Swimmer of the Year for both years. Later in 2019, she won a silver medal in the World Para Swimming Championships. 

The 2024 Summer Paralympics were Newkirk’s second Paralympics. In her Paralympic debut in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, which she was nominated for after her 2019 silver medal, she competed in the 100 m backstroke S6 event and finished in fourth place. Additionally, her performance in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle events set new national records. In 2022, Newkirk secured a gold medal in the S6 100m backstroke and placed fourth in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle events, breaking the Canadian record. She was also part of the relay team that broke Canadian records in the 4 x 50 m medley 20 points relay and 4 x 100 m medley 34 points relay. In 2023, she again broke the Canadian record with her performance at the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships S6 100 m backstroke event. 

At the 2024 Paralympics on September 7, Newkirk placed third in the S6 100 m backstroke finals and won a well-deserved bronze medal. 

Shelby Newkirk (Credit: Canadian Paralympic Committee)

Julie Kozun

Julie Kozun, born December 23, 1999 in Melfort, SK, is the only Saskatchewan native in Canada’s national sitting volleyball team. The 2022 graduate of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources was already involved in volleyball during her high school years, before she lost her left leg below the knee in a lawn-mowing accident. Shortly afterward, she was introduced to sitting volleyball, and has been a star player ever since. 

Kozun, who wears the #2 and plays as an attacker, has been a member of the national sitting volleyball team since May 2017, after returning from a year off from playing volleyball. In 2018, the team finished seventh in the World Championships and in the 2019 Parapan American Games, they earned a bronze medal by finishing third She was part of the team that won the gold medal at the 2020 World ParaVolley tournament, which qualified Team Canada for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Kozun’s first Paralympics, where they placed fourth. Later in 2022, they earned a silver medal in the World Championships and made the final at the 2023 World Cup.

At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Kozun as part of Team Canada received the bronze medal in sitting volleyball, placing behind the U.S. and China. The team made history by winning the first Paralympic medal in sitting volleyball in Canada’s history. 

Besides her impressive career in volleyball, Kozun also works for Richardson Pioneer and has served the Melfort community by teaching younger generations about Para sports. She was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the Mayor of Melfort and was inducted into her high school’s Hall of Fame. 

Julie Kozun (Credit: Volleyball Canada)

Nikita Ens

Born in Meadow Lake, SK, in 1988, Nikita Ens competes in the S3 classification of Para swimming while pursuing a Master’s degree in theological studies. The graduate from the College of Arts & Science was very active in multiple sports before a car accident in 2014, which left her paralyzed. She had even cycled across Canada in 32 days at just 25 years old. Ens began Para swimming three years after her accident, having excelled, but not pariticularly enjoyed track and field. 

Ens’ made her international debut in 2019, and her career is includes a long list of titles and broken records. In 2019, she set the national records in the S3 50 m freestyle and the SM3 150 m individual medley events at the Canadian Swimming Trials, and later set Canadian records in the S3 100 m freestyle and 50 m backstroke events at the Canadian Swimming Championships. She also represented Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where she finished ninth and set her personal best times in S3 50 m backstroke and 100 m freestyle events and set a Canadian record in the SM3 class. Later in 2022, she won her first world championship medal (silver) at the World Para Swimming Championships in the S3 200 m freestyle event. At this tournament, she also broke the Canadian record and placed fourth in the S3 50 m backstroke. 

At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Ens finished eighth in the S3 100 m freestyle event and fifth in the S3 50 m backstroke event. Ens and Newkirk competed together in the mixed relay team that finished 4th in the 4 x 50m medley 20 points relay. 

Nikita Ens (Credit: Canadian Paralympic Committee)

Saskatchewan athletes representing Canada in many ways at the Paralympics

There are many more Saskatchewan-born athletes who represented Canada at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, and who participated in other capacities. For instance, College of Kinesiology graduate and wheelchair basketball player Erica Gavel attended the 2024 Paralympics as part of the World Anti- Doping Agency, representing all Paralympic athletes. For a comprehensive profile on all athletes, their stories, and their personal and athletic accomplishments, visit the University of Saskatchewan News website or the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s website.

 Congratulations to all athletes on this major achievement; your hard work does not go unnoticed. Thank you for proudly representing Canada at the 2024 Paris Paralympics!