One of Canada’s most outstanding and decorated Paralympic athletes has passed away. Kelowna native Garett Hickling died recently at the age of 54. Hickling suffered a broken neck in 1987 at the age of 16. Following his accident, he took to the sport of wheelchair rugby. The Canadian Paralympic Committee described Hickling as a trailblazer in the sport, “an influential leader on and off the court, and one of the best to ever play the game.” He represented Canada at five Paralympic Games, winning silver in 1996, 2004 and 2012 and bronze in 2008. He was also Canada’s flagbearer in the 2012 London Paralympics. Along with his Paralympic success, Hickling also was named MVP at the first three world championships in 1995, 98 and 2002 leading Canada to silver, bronze and gold medals respectively. “Garett is a wheelchair rugby legend, a true warrior out there,” said former Canadian head coach Patrick Côté to Wheelchair Rugby Canada on the occasion of Hickling’s induction to the Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Hall of Fame in 2017. “Being so dominant in a sport for so many years demonstrates how tough he was. Simply put, he was one of the greatest players of all time.” His number five has been retired. Following his playing days, Hickling coached at the local and provincial level in Toronto. He was an assistant coach for Canada’s team at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Hickling was inducted into the Central Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.