Winning last year’s world championship in front of her Canadian crowd was special. Now, Janet McLachlan hopes to relive a similar experience when the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games come to her home country on 7-15 August.

She is confident her team can grab gold at the Parapans and punch their tickets to Rio 2016.

After defeating Germany in nail-biting fashion 54-50 at the 2014 International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Women’s Wheelchair Basketball World Championships, it is fair to understand why.

“Canada showed at the World Championships that we have the opportunity to be the best in the world,” McLachlan said.

“Winning the gold in front of friends, family and alumni teammates was incredible - feeling that support made an immeasurable difference,” McLachlan said. “As athletes, we put an enormous amount of pressure on ourselves regardless of where we are but it’s the pressure to represent your country well at home, which we managed to balance at the World Championships and we hope to do again at the Parapan Games.”

She was named as an All-Star and the second highest scorer at the World Championships.

In August, Canada are set to face USA, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Brazil, Peru and Argentina in eight days of competition.

“The USA are always a strong team – they have very talented players but we have to focus on one game at a time and hopefully we will end where we want to be — in the gold medal game,” said McLachlan, adding that her team expects to bring a new style of play this year.

Canada’s preparations for the Parapan Am Games kick off with a three week training camp this month and will be repeated monthly until August.

The Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games will feature 1,608 athletes from 28 countries competing in 15 sports. All Parapan Am sports contested in Toronto will be qualifying opportunities for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

For ticket information and more details, visit the event website.