In his first international competition, Marco Dispaltro of St-Jerome, QC won the silver medal in the BC4 category in the last day of competition at the World Cup Boccia CPISRA 2011.
In the final, Dispaltro lost 3-2 against Eliseu Dos Santos of Brazil. The match was fiercely contested and the outcome of the game was not decided until the last Canadian ball was thrown. On Marco’s last shot, it was necessary that the ball stop on the jack but it moved just beyond it’s target. The referee measured the difference with a piece of paper. With the silver medal around his neck he proudly discussed his performance. “Throughout the day I was really in a zone. After learning that I qualified for the playoffs, there was a weight that came off of my shoulders and I became the player I really think I am. I was very focused and the encouragement of the Canadian team helped me a lot."
To get to the final Dispaltro had to get rid of the first ranked player in the world, Dirceu Pinto. He upset Pinto 4-2 in the quarterfinals. "Pinto was the man to beat. He is the one who gave me the inspiration. It is strange to say this but playing this great player was an honour. My job, however, was to beat him and I did.” He also beat Yoocharoen Sataporn of Thailand, 7-2 and Domingos Vieira of Portugal 7-1,
Now, one year to the day before the start of the Paralympics, everything is now possible. "Today was the culmination of a goal Marco set in May 2010 when I met him to talk about boccia and his chances of participating in the World Cup in 2011” said the Canadian team coach Mario Delisle. “Marco said he wanted nothing less than to make a podium and go to the Paralympics in 2012. Sixteen months later and after throwing thousands of balls he just won a silver medal at the World Cup here in Belfast and is en route to 2012. It was a great day for him and it is clear to me that he could repeat the feat at the 2012 Games."
The other Canadian in the playoffs, Adam Dukovich of London was eliminated in the in the round of 32 against Takayuki Hirose of Japan. The final score of 9-1 does not tell the full story of the game. Behind 3-1 in the final end, Dukovich went for broke to try to tie the game but that strategy did not work. The Japanese took full advantage of it and scored 6 points.
Final Placing
Pair BC3 4th
Pair BC4 4th
Team 8th
BC1
Brock Richardson (Brampton, ON) 26th
Keven Smith-Worthylake (Ottawa, ON 32nd
BC2
Adam Dukovich (London, ON) 30th
Francois Bourbonniere (Montreal, QC) 38th
Tammy McLeod (London, ON) 40th
BC3
Paul Gauthier (Vancouver, QC) 22nd
Bruno Garneau (Montreal, QC) 29th
Alison Kabush (Surrey, BC) 34th
BC4
Marco Dispaltro (St-Jerome, QC) 4th
Josh Vander Vies (Sarnia, ON) 25th
Caroline Vietnieks (Delta, BC) 33rd
