Veteran athletes Gautier, Shaw proud to lead Canada into Parapan Am Games

Devin Heroux is in Santiago, Chile to report on the Para Pan Am Games.

Amidst an atmosphere of excitement, anxiety and anticipation with the backdrop of the picturesque Andes mountains in the Chilean capital of Santiago, the Canadian flag-bearers for the seventh edition of the Parapan Am Games were announced Wednesday morning by the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

Shelley Gautier, a 55-year-old cyclist from Niagara Falls, Ont.,, and Rob Shaw, a 33-year-old wheelchair tennis player from North Bay, Ont.,, have been named flag-bearers for Canada to lead the team of 140 athletes into the opening ceremony on Friday.

"It was pretty shocking. It's not something I would ever be in the conversation for. There were no hints or anything. There was none of that. It came completely out of the blue," Shaw said after being informed of the honour earlier this week.  "We're humble people and downplay our own achievements. I've had a great career and year as well on tour, but there are so many deserving athletes for this."

Competition runs Nov. 17-26 and will be streamed live on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem. Friday's opening ceremony is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.

Shaw enters these Games as the defending Parapan Am Games champion in the quad category in wheelchair tennis, having won gold four years ago in Lima. Those were his first international games for Canada. 

"I can still picture the village and bus rides and a lot of clear, happy memories from there," Shaw said. "I wasn't prepared for how emotional I got going into those ceremonies. It was overwhelming. Now I get to help lead the team."

Gautier is no stranger to international competition having represented Canada at world championships, three Paralympics and now