Rick Ball ParaSport Ontario Male Athlete of the Year
(Orillia, ON) – A surprise honour was awaiting amputee runner Rick Ball as he ran the final leg of the torch relay to open the 2011 ParaSport Ontario Summer Games last Friday in Sarnia.
After lighting the Summer Games cauldron before a crowd that included Ontario Lieutenant-Governor, the Hon. David Onley at the St. Patrick’s High School — Sarnia Athletics Southwest Track and Field Complex, Ball was named ParaSport Ontario Male Athlete of the Year and presented with a commemorative plaque.
It’s the second such honour Ball has received this year, having been named Ontario’s 2010 Male Athlete with a Disability of the Year at the Ontario Sport Awards in April, hosted by the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport and the Sport Alliance of Ontario.
“It was a complete surprise! I was only following through on my commitment to help kick off this great event and focus attention on these courageous athletes during the torch relay,” said Ball before running the 400 metres on Saturday. “I’m so appreciative of the support I’ve received that it makes me push even harder to reach the Para Pan-American Games in Mexico this Fall…and, of course, my ultimate goal – representing Canada at the London Paralympics in 2012.”
Ball continues to train hard and build momentum in the 400- and 200-metres to ensure he meets Athletics Canada’s standard for inclusion on the elite Canadian team.
