(OTTAWA, ONT.) Paralympian and World Champion wheelchair basketball player Maude Jacques has announced her retirement from the Canadian Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team.
Jacques, who discovered wheelchair basketball in 2001, was a staple of Team Canada since first cracking the National Team lineup in 2011 to compete in the inaugural IWBF U25 Women’s World Championship, which was held in Canada. Four years later, she was named to the all-star team at the same tournament.
Over a career spanning nine more years, Jacques would go onto to represent Canada at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and capture a gold medal on home soil at the 2014 IWBF Women’s World Championship in Toronto. Most recently, Jacques helped Team Canada qualify for the Tokyo Paralympics with a gold medal at the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.
“I am very thankful for all of the opportunities that Wheelchair Basketball Canada gave me,” said Jacques. “I made some wonderful friends and I visited much of the world. Winning that gold medal at Worlds in 2014, along with the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympics are forever in my mind. There are lots of ups and downs in high performance sport and I am glad that I was along for the ride for all these years.
“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. 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!”
“I have known Maude since her beginnings in wheelchair basketball and I am very proud of her career, from the mini level all the way to the senior National Team,” said Team Canada Head Coach Marc Antoine Ducharme. “I had the opportunity to coach Maude with the junior and senior teams in Quebec, as well as the Canadian senior team. She is an amazing player and teammate. She knows how to play on both sides of the court and could excel in any situation. We will miss her energy and wish her all the best for her future.”
Jacques attended school at the University of Alabama where she made three consecutive championship appearances starting in 2013 and capped off by a National Intercollegiate Championship in 2015.
The Sherbrooke, Que. native also found success playing for her home Province of Quebec where she reached the podium eight times including first place finishes at the 2007 and 2011 Canada Games, the 2010 Junior National Championships, and the CWBL Women’s National Championships in 2011 and 2019.
About Wheelchair Basketball Canada
Wheelchair Basketball Canada is the national sports governing body responsible for the organization of the sport in Canada. It is a non-profit, charitable organization that is committed to excellence in the development, support and promotion of wheelchair basketball programs and services for all Canadians from grassroots to high performance. Wheelchair basketball is a fast-paced, hard-hitting, competitive sport in which Canada is held in high esteem around the world for winning a combined six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in the last seven Paralympic Games.