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so thursday march 7 2002 economist sun stouffville tribune 4 paralympic athletes want recognition from public media byjohncudmore staff writer they are canadas forgotten olympic team but their pursuit of olympic gold is no less intense than that of the athletes who preceded them to salt lake city last month to members of the other team canada paralympians such as paul rosen and rob legace the encour aging words spoken by goaltender martin brodeur moments after canadas victory in mens hockey were sweet mr brodeur urged the sledge hockey team to complete canadas hockey triple crown by securing gold at the eighth paralympic athter games mr brodeurs interview might- have been the only forewarning most canadians had- to the games for physically disabled athletes which start tonight with opening ceremonies in salt lake city cbc plans to televise 10 hours of sameday coverage during the event which will attract more than 1000 athletes from 36 countries closing ceremonies are march 16 sports of the paralympics include biathlon alpine and cross country skiing canadas 27-mem- ber team which is aiming to better its 15medat haul- in 1998 at nagano iricludes 15 sledge hockey players in sledge hockey players propel themselves across the ice seated on a lightweight metal ushaped seat vyith two blades as runners basicallyits people with a fam- i member with a physicaldisabil- ity who know about this and thats ing it said mr legace an aurora resi dent and defenceman for the defending world champion canadian sledge hockey team we just dont get any coverage unless its a charity spot or in the back pages of the newspaper but we take this seriously and train hard for mr legace 35 who has spina bifida these are his third paralympics he was a member of the squad that captured bronze in lillehammer in 1994 and won silver at the nagano games four years ago he persuaded mr rosen to try out for the national team people dont like to hear it but anyone is only an accident away from trying out for this team theres not one guy on this team who envisioned he would be playing here the 41yearold mr rosen has been told hes the oldest rookie in the history of the paralympics he is considered the future in net for canada poised to take over from 12year veteran pierre pichette 47 of montreal i feel like a 10yearrold kid and im having the greatest time of my life im getting the chance to com pete for the greatest country in the world and with 14 of the greatest athletes in the world said the thornhill resident who lost his right leg below the knee in 1999 and has quickly become something of a spokesperson for physically dis abled athletes were forgotten theres no mpic spirits staff photomike barrett members of canadas paralympic sledge hockey team paul rosen left and rob legace compete this week- question about that said mr rosen who has written letters to toronto mayor mel lastman urg- ing recognition for the accomplish ments of physically disabled ath letes i just hopewhen were done the countrygets behind us all we want is to be treated equally nothing special just equally people dont like to hear it but anyone is only an accident away from trying out for this team theres not one guy on this team who envisioned he would be play ing here mr rosen was a promising 15- yearold forward with the thornhill thunderbirds midgets when he broke his leg in 14 places during a game in barrie he also ripped apart just about everything there is to rip apart iri a knee in 1997 mr rosen underwent knee replacement surgery but fought a steady line of infections for two years before his leg was ampu tated for a whilei thought of june 9 1999 as the worst day of my life recalled mr rosen noting he went for a long walk on his crutches the very next day but it turned out to be the best day of my life for one thing my three kids have learned so much by coming out and seeing the guys i see hockey page 21 1 iil 1 v v 6 months m nojnterest no payments im m vmit qmf mlqwtqqm antiques refin1shed beyond compare 158 main street unionv1lle 905 4749677 this chippendale dining suite includes 6 f chippendale side chairs 2 hall and claw arm chairs and a double pedestal dining able with 2 extension jj leaves opening to 10 feet includes buffet hutch sale price 15995