Paralympians praise Paris

Canadians arrive at Pearson grateful for experience, happy to be home

- ABDULHAMID IBRAHIM

Upon touching down on home soil, Paralympic silver medallist Jesse Zesseu called his first Games a surreal moment.

Several Canadian Paralympians returned home at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday, with smiles on their faces and some with family awaiting them at arrivals. Zesseu, a 25-year-old from Toronto, won silver in the F37 discus throw in his debut Games.

“It was pretty surreal. Sorry, my voice is gone from last night,” he said. “Getting there and experiencing the entire thing … this was like on a whole other level. The crowds were insane, we would have like 60to 70,000 people for track and I’ve never experienced that in my whole life.

“It was a surreal experience, to really live out your dreams is a crazy thing to do.”

However, it was also nice for Zesseu to finally be home.