Team Canada has named their flag bearers for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. They are weightlifter and Canadian Olympic gold medallist Maude Charron of Saint-Luce, Quebec and wheelchair racer Josh Cassidy of Ottawa, Ontario according to the Canadian Press on Thursday.
Charron won the gold medal in the women’s 64 kilogram weightlifting division at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. She lifted 105 kilograms in the snatch and 131 kilograms in the clean and jerk for 236 kilograms overall. Charron is also the reigning Commonwealth Games gold medalist from 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia, in the women’s 63 kilograms division when she lifted 220 kilograms. She also won the silver medal in the women’s snatch at the 2017 Women’s World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim when she lifted 102 kilograms. For Charron’s complete biography for the Canadian Encyclopedia, please click here.
Cassidy won the bronze medal for Canada in the men’s 1500 metres in the T54 classification at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. He has also won the 2010 London Marathon, 2012 Boston Marathon and the 2019 Los Angeles Marathon. When Cassidy won the Boston Marathon, he posted an amazing time of 1:18.25. The 37-year-old suffered from neuroblastoma cancer in his spine and abdomen, which left his legs paralyzed. The Commonwealth Games begin July 28.
