World champion Jacques retires from Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball team

Paralympian and world champion Maude Jacques has announced her retirement from the Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball team.

Jacques first cracked the national team lineup and helped Canada capture a gold medal on home soil at the 2014 IWBF Women’s World Championship in Toronto.

She also represented Canada at the London Paralympic Games, and helped her team earn a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, which have been postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Sherbrooke, Que. native competed at the inaugural IWBF under-25 Women’s World Championship, which was held in St. Catharines, Ont. She was an all-star at the 2015 edition of the tournament in Beijing.

“Sometimes tough decisions have to be made, and I knew retiring would never be easy because basketball has been a part of my identity for so long,” Jacques said in a release. “But I leave the team with my head held high and I am proud of everything that I have accomplished. I wish Team Canada the best for Tokyo 2021.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2020.

The Canadian Press