Fergus native Patrick Anderson has once again been named to the Wheelchair Basketball Canada team for 2012.
Anderson, once widely regarded as the best wheelchair basketball player in the world, made his return to the national team last summer after taking two years off of international competition.
He was officially added last week to the roster of 26 athletes selected to represent Canada?s senior men?s and women?s national wheelchair basketball teams at the London Paralympic Games this summer.
?We want to reestablish Canada as the world leader in wheelchair basketball, and we are confident in the talented teams our coaches have assembled,? Wheelchair Basketball Canada director Paul Zachau said.
The athletes were selected from a pool of 37 who attended a week-long selection camp Jan. 9 to 13 in Las Vegas.
The 2012 men?s roster includes 11 returning players, nine of whom have Paralympic experience. The men?s team is the defending Paralympic silver medalist, and is looking for its third gold medal and fourth consecutive podium finish in London.
?Our goal is to win the gold in London and to do that we?ve got competitions lined up against the best teams in the world, definitely all top five teams. And we plan on pushing our athletes a lot harder over the next eight months in terms of fitness and tactical preparation,? said men?s head coach Jerry Tonello.
?We are really confident we are on the right path and we are going to bring home the gold medal,? said Johnson.
For more information visit www.wheelchairbasketball.ca.
