Patrick Anderson

Started: He began playing wheelchair basketball in 1990. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 03 Nov 2011) Reason: Following his accident his father encouraged him to take up basketball. "My dad built me a basket in the backyard on a deck that I could wheel on. I'd shoot around on my legs, on my knees in my chair on my basketball chair, my day chair. I always had a basketball in my hands. I wouldn't have thought that I was training. But essentially that is what I was doing." (cbc.ca, 16 May 2019) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (deia.eus, 22 Feb 2024; townandcountrytoday.com, 15 Apr 2024) Awards: He and swimmer Katarina Roxon were Canada's flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (medias.paris2024.org, 28 Aug 2024) In 2022 signs were installed in his hometown of Fergus, ON, Canada, which read 'Home of Patrick Anderson'. (wellingtonadvertiser.com, 25 May 2022) He was named Male Athlete of the Year by Wheelchair Basketball Canada in 2009, 2013 and 2018 at the Canadian Paralympic Committee Sport Awards. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Jan 2018) In 2013 he was named Best Male Athlete of the Year at the Canadian Paralympic Committee Sport Awards. He was also named Ontario Athlete of the Year with a Disability and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in the same year. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Jan 2018) He was named the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association [CWSA] Male Athlete of the Year in 2004, 2006 and 2012. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Jan 2018) In 2010 he was named an honorary mayor of the Olympic & Paralympic Villages in Vancouver. (wheelchairbasketball.ca, 03 Nov 2011) Additional Info: MOVE TO SPAIN In 2023 he moved from the United States of America to Spain to play for Bidaideak Bilbao BSR. He had previously played club wheelchair basketball in several countries, including Canada, United States of America, Germany, Australia and Turkey. "I trained there [in New York, NY, United States of America] on my own. In recent years I coincided with Steve Serio, the captain of the United States, but he went to play in Italy and I could no longer measure myself against anyone. So coming to Bilbao was almost a necessity so as not to be left alone. Now I am 90% athlete and 10% musician. But we have rented a piano and my wife can continue making music. The mobility and accessibility in Bilbao is not very different from that of New York." (deia.eus, 22 Feb 2024; rollt-magazin.de, 03 Apr 2021; wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Jan 2020) RETIREMENT THOUGHTS He considered retiring from the sport after the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo but decided to continue playing with a view to competing at the 2024 Games in Paris. "I thought Tokyo [2020] was going to be the end, but COVID-19 ruined everything, we lost in the quarterfinals and I didn't want to end the story that way. I want to give myself the opportunity to reach at least the semifinals again with the young guys we have now." (deia.eus, 22 Feb 2024) BREAKS FROM NATIONAL TEAM He has twice taken a break from the Canadian national team. The first was for around 18 months after the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, and the second was for five years between 2012 and 2017, to pursue his music career. The second time he moved to New York, NY, United States of America, and continued to play at club level but chose to return to the national team after seeing the quality the country was producing. "When I was playing against these guys, I just saw a lot of potential. I saw guys who were really ready to make a splash internationally. I realise music is something we continue to do and improve beyond 50, whereas my window for basketball was small." (cbc.ca, 16 May 2019; wheelchairbasketball.ca, 01 Jan 2018) MUSIC CAREER In 2008 he enrolled in a general music degree at Hunter College in New York, NY, United States of America. He has since pursued a career in music alongside his basketball career and is part of a musical duo with his wife Anna called 'The Layawakes'. They perform songs themed around family and faith and have even toured together. "We had similar stories. She was into sports and music her whole life. After we got married, we'd sit around and play songs a little bit. That sort of evolved into starting to record and to write and perform together." (chvnradio.com, 27 Apr 2019; guelphtoday.com, 21 Jun 2018)