Powerhouse Pair Have Unbeaten Golden Performance at the Povoa World Boccia Cup

Ottawa, ON (July 15, 2024) – BC4 Pair, Alison Levine (Montréal, QC) and Iulian Ciobanu (Montréal, QC), went undefeated to capture the well-deserved title of Champion in BC4 Pairs after winning gold earlier today against the number one seed and their international rival, Colombia, at the Povoa World Boccia Cup in Portugal.

The Pair put on an impressive tournament six weeks out from the start of the 2024 Paris Paralympics that begin August 29^th.

Levine was proud of her performance and ecstatic about the results: “The last tournament before the Paralympics and we showed up. We showed up and put everything we’ve been doing into practice. All the fine-tuning at training, our confidence was high, we needed to execute, and we did! It’s a great boost heading into Paris. In boccia, we know that it can go one way, one day, and a different way the next. We must always be on the lookout. Iulian and I are adaptable and resilient though, which we showed everyone here today.”

Ciobanu and Levine have been putting on stellar performances throughout their boccia career and, in this past Paralympic cycle, have collected a total of eight BC4 Pairs medals to their name on top of their respective individual medals at most international competitions as well.

“It sounds stale because I keep saying it, but it doesn’t get old,” said Levine. “It feels so good, and it feels so right,” Levine has gone through her fair share of challenges with her disability over the past three years and, despite even illness at this tournament, her perseverance and never-give-up attitude has been inspiring and commendable.

In the final game against the brother and sister duo Leidy Chica Chica and Edilson Chica Chica, Canada won 4-1. The Pair got off to a fiery start with two convincing points in the first end. Levine, on Canada’s third ball, nailed the open jack on an angle to create difficulties for Colombia who ended up depleting their balls with Iulian having three still to throw. In the second end, the turning point was Levine powerfully taking out the opposing scoring ball while simultaneously pushing the jack onto Canada’s ball at the back of the court, essentially scoring a point from the other side. Colombia with one ball remaining, could not get any closer and it was a 3-0 lead for Canada at the halfway point. In similar fashion, Canada added another point in the third end to take a 4-0 lead with again Levine pushing the red ball closer to the jack and Colombia unable to get any closer with their final two balls. In the last end, Colombia decided to play their jack very long at 10 meters, common in boccia games, to collect critical points in the last end. Canada countered with a defensive wall in front of the jack, and Colombia was only able to score one.

Earlier in the tournament, Ciobanu and Levine won both their pool games 7-1 respectively against Brazil and Croatia, received a bye at the quarters, and won in the semifinals 4-2 against Thailand.

With the 4-1 gold medal win, Canada’s BC4 Pair defeated the current world number one pair for a second straight time, the last being in November at the Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, which punched their ticket to Paris this summer. Canada was ranked number three heading into the Povoa World Boccia Cup.

Ciobanu was proud and reminded everyone that “we were anticipating that we would play these Pairs although, tomorrow is another day. Today, though, we are Champions. This gold confirms our place at these competitions and our image amongst the best in the world.”

This will mark another World Cup BC4 Pairs medal for Ciobanu and Levine. The last being a silver at the Montréal World Boccia Cup earlier this year.

Their coach, César Nicolaï was happy to watch them succeed this close to the Paralympics: “Finishing in first place means a lot to us! We’re all set for the Paris Games. We still had a few questions about our strategies, and we were able to take advantage of this World Cup to find the answers we were missing. This is the second time since 2019 that we’ve won gold here! As a coach, I’m more than satisfied with Alison and Iulian: they executed and respected the game plan throughout the competition.”

Find the results and schedule from the competition here. Rewatch the webcasted event here. Paralympics start in 45 days.