MADELL Zak

Wheelchair Rugby

Date of Birth: 28 Mar 1994

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Sport Class: 3.5

Place of birth: EDMONTON, AB

Birth Country:

Canada

Place of residence : OKOTOKS, AB

Residence Country:

Canada

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Wheelchair Rugby	Mixed CAN Canada	5

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Yoyogi National Stadium	Mixed - Pool Phase Group B #03 GBR Great Britain 50 CAN Canada 47	Finished
	Yoyogi National Stadium	Mixed - Pool Phase Group B #05 CAN Canada 54 USA United States 58	Finished
	Yoyogi National Stadium	Mixed - Pool Phase Group B #12 NZL New Zealand 36 CAN Canada 51	Finished
	Yoyogi National Stadium	Mixed - 5th-6th classification #16 FRA France 49 CAN Canada 57	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location
Paralympic Games
2	Mixed	2012	London, GBR
4	Mixed	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA
World Championships
2	Mixed	2014	Odense, DEN

The Kid (cbc.ca, 24 Aug 2016)

Centennial College, Toronto, ON, CAN

Languages spoken:

Patrick Cote [national], CAN

Other sports:

He played for the Alberta wheelchair basketball team at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, NS, Canada. (cg2011.gems.pro, 27 Feb 2011)

2011 for Canada, Qualification Tournament in Bogota, Colombia (paralympic.org, Sep 2016)

He began playing wheelchair rugby in 2011. (paralympic.ca, Sep 2016)

He initially played Para ice hockey but had to tape the stick to his hands. He switched to wheelchair basketball but his lack of fingers affected his shooting. After being recruited to wheelchair rugby he found he was more suited to the sport. (paralympic.ca, Sep 2016; thestar.com, 02 Aug 2015)

To win a medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (cbc.ca, 07 Aug 2020)

Philosophy:

"I love the idea to 'compare yourself to who you were yesterday' or being better than your yesterday, rather than comparing yourself to others around you." (getreadyinfive.com 01 Sep 2016)

He was named Best 3.5 Class Player at the 2016 Canadian Championships in Montreal, Quebec, and the 2014 World Championships in Odense, Denmark. (sirc.ca, 30 May 2016; 2014wrwc.dhif.dk, 11 Aug 2014)

He was Canada's flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto, ON, Canada. (paralympic.ca, 01 Sep 2016)

He was named Most Valuable Player [MVP] at the 2015 World Challenge in London, England, the 2014 World Championships in Odense, Denmark, and the 2014 Canada Cup. (paralympic.ca, 01 Sep 2016; 2014wrwc.dhif.dk, 11 Aug 2014)

He was chosen as Alberta's flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, BC, Canada. (cwsa.ca, 20 Jan 2015)

General Interest

Classification
3.5 (wheelchairrugby.ca, 28 Jul 2021)

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (paralympic.ca, Sep 2016)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (paralympic.ca, Sep 2016)

Impairment Details
At age 10 he lost both legs and all of his fingers as the result of a septic staph infection. (paralympic.ca, Sep 2016)

General
BREAK AND RETURN
He took time away from the sport for nearly three years after the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and studied architectural technologies at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology [SAIT] in Calgary, AB, Canada. He decided that he wanted to return to the Canadian national team in time for the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru. "Once I finished school I wanted to take some time off so I had something after rugby to fall back on and make sure I was prepared for life outside of rugby. But at the same time going to school and sitting at a desk for that long made me realise I wasn't ready to hang up the old skates for good. I wanted to go back and take one more shot at this. Now I think it puts my mind at ease knowing that if I injure myself or anything, I've got something beyond rugby to fall back on." (okotokstoday.ca, 04 Aug 2021; wheelchairrugby.ca, 01 Jan 2020; Twitter profile, 13 Mar 2017)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
He has served as an athlete ambassador for the Paralympic Foundation of Canada's 'Champions Journey' fundraising campaign. (activehands.com, 01 Sep 2015)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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