From Santiago to Paris, Canadian Para athletes set the table for a successful 2024

Call 2023 an appetizer.

The past year provided some great moments for Canadian Para athletes — many of which only served to ignite even more excitement about the main course that is 2024, when the Paralympics head to Paris.

Perhaps no event set the table for the Paralympics more than the Parapan Am Games, which recently wrapped in Santiago, Chile.

Crowds of enthusiastic fans from the tennis court to the goalball arena and the pool gave a glimpse of the excitement some expect in Paris, which has been hyped in certain circles as the most celebratory Paralympics since London 2012.

WATCH | CBC Sports' Rob Pizzo takes you through the year's marquee moments:

Of course, Canadian athletes made their mark in South America as well. You just have to think back to the scene after Canada's women's goalball team beat the Americans in a tense final. Teammates joyfully piled on veteran Amy Burk, a gold medal and Paralympic ticket in hand.

Rob Shaw earned silver in a thrilling final against a Chilean opponent with the entire crowd against him, and both showed immense sportsmanship with their greeting at the net after the final point was won.

And Kyle Tremblay booked his spot in Paris with bronze in an archery event.

WATCH | Canada wins goalball gold at Parapan Am Games:

In July, we were treated to a more direct Paralympic preview when the Para athletics worlds took place at Charlèty Stadium — about 20 kilometres south of Stade de France, where Paralympic track-and-field events will be contested.

Canadians collected 14 medals at worlds — including a pair golds courtesy of Brent Lakatos and Nate Riech, two athletes who seemed poised to snatch more hardware.

Lakatos, 43, already holds 10 Paralympic medals, though just one is a gold. The world championships have often drawn more success for the wheelchair racer, where the Dorval, Que., native has 11 titles and seven combined silver and bronze.

Riech, on the other hand, only knows gold. The 28-year-old successfully defended his title in the T38 1,500 metres at worlds. The Victoria resident is also the world record holder in the distance and the reigning Paralympic champion, to go with his world record in the 800, which was not contested at the 2021 Games.

And while Riech and Lakatos were the headliners, Canada's medal haul was its greatest at the event since 2013. Long jumper Noah Vucsics introduced himself with silver at his first major meet, Renee Foessel earned her third career discus medal at worlds and sprinter Bianca Borgella broke out with two medals of her own.