Canada's Jesse Zesseu won silver in his Paralympic debut in the men's discus F37 final at the Paris Games.

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Jesse Zesseu, representing Canada, earned a silver medal in the men's F37 discus final at the Paris Paralympic Games. This was Zesseu’s debut at the Paralympics. The competition took place at the iconic Stade de France, where Zesseu demonstrated consistent and poised performance.

Zesseu, a 25-year-old left-hander, finished behind the gold medalist from Uzbekistan, Aleksandr Gildashev. Zesseu's achievement is particularly notable given his recent entry into the world of Paralympic athletics. He became aware of his potential to compete in para-sports only four years ago.

In an emotional post-event interview, Zesseu reflected on his journey. His family immigrated to Canada from Cameroon 20 years ago. Zesseu, who was born with cerebral palsy and suffered a stroke at birth, described the experience of winning a medal as incredible and overwhelming. 

Devin Heroux from CBC Sports, who has been covering the Paralympic Games, highlighted Zesseu's story and the resilience demonstrated by Paralympic athletes. Heroux noted the strong support for the games in Paris, indicating significant audience engagement.



Jesse Zesseu wins silver for Canada in discus throw

Well, Jesse Zezu, 25-year-old, in second position, finished fourth in Côte d'Ivoire, outside the medals. He's guaranteed a silver. He's going to be going somewhere. He's going to get up near Gildashev of Uzbekistan. He's in first place. The left-hander, it's out there, but it's not going to be enough. There was the breaking news from Paris on the field in the Stade de France with Jesse Zezu winning silver for Canada in the men's F-37 discus. And guess who was there to cover it, as he's been covering everything for the Paris Paralympic Games, as he covered everything for the Paris Olympic Games. Just delighted to have some time this morning with CBC Sports' Devin Heroux. Good morning, Devin. Good morning to you, Heather. Bonjour from Stade de France. You're never going to speak English again after all the weeks that you've been in Paris. You're just there for another breaking medal win for Canada. Tell us about that discus silver and Jesse's accomplishment there. Paralympic magic, Heather. You know, there are these moments that transcend sport, and that's exactly what took place for Jesse Zezu in his Paralympic debut. Didn't really even know that there was a pathway for him to compete in Paris sport until about four years ago. And then on this grand stage under the bright lights of Stade de France, an iconic building, he rises up and wins silver for Canada in the men's discus F37. He was so consistent, so poised. And you know, Heather, just a short time ago, he came right here to our broadcast position, carrying the Canadian flag overrun with emotion because he told me his family immigrated to Canada about 20 years ago, right at this time of year in search of a better life. And can you imagine that scene draped in the Maple Leaf winning a silver medal at the Paralympics? Here's a little bit of our conversation, an emotional one, no doubt. You overrun with emotion because this is no ordinary day. You're a Paralympic silver medalist. Try and find words to describe the moment. I don't know, it's something like four years ago, I didn't know what Parathletics was. And now I'm here, and to win a medal is crazy. And on top of it, it's like this week marks 20 years since my family immigrated to Canada. And to top it off like that is really good. It's really incredible. I'm sorry, I can't talk right now. After I saw my sister, I just started crying. It's just, yeah, it's unbelievable. Everything, the feeling was indescribable, it's just crazy. It was first happiness when I saw my sister, and then it was like happiness in terms of crying. And to last year at Worlds, I was crying because I was just sad and mad because I triple vaulted out. And now to do this, the very next year, in this freaking stadium, like, it's incredible. It really is. Thank you so much, Devin. It's just, yeah, thank you, yeah. Listen, I'll never forget when you made your multi-sport. So special, and you know, Heather, I have had the great fortune of watching Jesse's rise in this sport. I was with him in Santiago last November, his first multi-sport games appearance. He won silver there. And here today in his Paralympic debut, a beautiful silver medal for Jesse Zezu, Heather. It's the stories, Devin, which you tell so beautifully. But listening to him 20 years since his family arrived from Cameroon, and I always like people to understand the background. He was born with cerebral palsy, had a stroke at birth, and has limited function as a result of all of this, but still doing these incredible athletic things, but it means so much more than the sport. And I've had conversations this week with Nathan Clement and with Nicholas Barrett and with Greg Stewart, all people whom you know so well. And they are just incredible individuals with incredible stories of journeys to share and lessons for us to learn. What are the things that you are wanting to share with us this morning, about what you've learned from the athletes, what you've seen from the athletes? What do we need to know, Devin? Beautiful question, and thank you for the opportunity. You know, Heather, what's always stood out to me about the Paralympians is their ability to pivot. So let's consider this. For many of these athletes, they had a different idea of what success was going to look like in their athletic careers. I think of the story of Jacob Wasserman, the humble Broncos bus crash survivor, who for 18 years of his life, believed that he was one day going to hoist the Stanley Cup. He was a starting goaltender for the team when that horrific bus crash happened. And then in a short period of time, he re-imagined what success was going to be in life and sport. And here in Paris, in front of his wife and his parents, and an entire country cheering for him, Jacob showed us resilience. He showed us what it's like to pivot in life and find success again. These are the stories of the athletes at the Paralympians That's what I will take away from all of this. It's so much more than sport. It's lessons in life and how to live and how to never give up and never stop believing in our dreams, Heather. We've heard that throughout and we're going to hear it again. Brent Lakatos is joining me next hour, Devin, as a matter of fact, gold medalist from his 800 on the track. So that's another incredible story to share. Do you think the message is getting through there in Paris? You've been talking on social media about full stands, 2.3 million tickets sold. You've been talking about high noise levels, people cheering so enthusiastically, but Paris is not known as an accessible city, Devin, let's be clear. Are they getting the message of these Paralympic athletes and what do you think the impact of all of this is? Yeah, I want to make it really clear, Heather. I have yet to see a city and a country embrace the Paralympics like Paris has. I've been here throughout all of this. In past games, it sort of felt like once the Olympics finished up, the party was over. People sort of packed up and got on with their daily lives. That is not the case in Paris. In the cafes, in the bars, in the metros, they're glued to their phones. In fact, I was on a packed metro the other day. They were all streaming Paralympic action. So I was peering over and seeing what was happening. There's a campaign here on all the signage that says, game is not over. It's been a party from start to finish. And hearts and minds are being changed throughout these games. I look at young children with their families in the venues, watching these incredible acts of athleticism. And they are showing and being taught that you can do anything. It doesn't matter your disability or whatever life throws in your way, that you can rise up and you can accomplish things. So I would certainly say that Paris and this country has wrapped its arms around the games. It's been so spectacular. I get emotional, Heather, because this really does change the way a country thinks about people living with disabilities. And that's only ever been what the Paralympic movement has been about. Of all the stories, of all the incredible athletic exploits, how on earth to choose a flag bearer or choose two flag bearers? Weigh in on that. My pick for the men anyway might be Nicholas, I think Nicholas Bennett for what he did in the pool. He's already have two golds and a silver and he has another race today. And that's pretty extraordinary to say the least. But that's just my thinking. What about yours? I'll agree with you, Heather. I think Nicholas Bennett would be an exceptional pick. The 20 year old from Parkesville, British Columbia in his second Paralympics, already three medals, two of them gold. Of course, he gets so overrun with emotion when he hears the anthem, tears in his eyes. His sister, of course, his coach, they train in Red Deer, Alberta. So Nicholas is a great pick. And on the other side, I'm going to pick on the women's side of things, Katie Dandeno, another British Columbian from Pender Island. She's been leading the Canadian women's wheelchair basketball team into the semifinal here tonight. They're looking to rekindle some of the basketball magic from the 90s. So it'll be Katie Dandeno and Nicholas Bennett for my picks to carry the flag for Canada. But like you said, exceptional athletes, 126 of them representing Canada. And they have made us all so proud here at the Games, Heather. They really have. That's going to be a big game against Netherlands tonight. For a spot in the gold medal match, we will watch the Canadian women's basketball team. And she's been so powerful and passionate too about the team and its chances. Devin, thank you for bringing the stories to us as always. Delighted to have some time. You have more work to do because there are more Canadians to follow. I'll let you get back to work. But thanks again for today. Thank you, Heather.

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