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USA men's and women’s teams will be heading to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games next year to defend their gold medals.
The USA did the double in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games winning gold in both the men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball competition, and secured their tickets to Tokyo 2020 at the recent Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.
The USA men went unbeaten through the Parapan Am Games, cruising their way through the competition, with their lowest margin of victory being the 31-point win against Argentina in the semi-final.
Canada men lost out to the USA in the final, but booked their spot to Tokyo 2020 by finishing second. The last qualifying spot for the men went to Colombia, who clinched the bronze medal with victory over Argentina, 58-51, in the 3rd /4th placing game. A huge achievement for the Colombians who have not appeared on a world stage since 2014, missing out on both Rio 2016 and the 2018 World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.
The USA women, who have been through a transitional period since the 2016 Games, took home the silver medal in Lima following a surprise defeat in the final against Canada, 64-67. The USA were the favourites going into the game, but Canada’s impressive display saw them take home the gold medal for the first time since 2003. Canada and the USA take the two available spots for the women’s competition at Tokyo 2020.
Click here for the full results from the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.
Images courtesy of Lima 2019.
