"It's full-on contact with wheelchairs," said [Jared Funk], a member of Team Canada's wheelchair rugby squad, which will be aiming for a podium finish at the 2008 Paralympic Games, Sept. 6-17. "It's like rugby, just add some metal in there.

Janine Hanson (rowing) and Jason Lyon (archery) both have qualified for the Canadian Olympic team, while Lee Carter (wheelchair tennis), Kirby Cote (swimming), Jared Funk (wheelchair rugby), Joey Johnson (wheelchair basketball), Colin Mathieson (wheelchair athletics) and Meghan Montgomery (adaptive rowing) will compete in the Paralympics.

"You can taste it," said Funk, who was in China last month for a pre-Olympic exhibition test. "If you exercise really hard it will feel like someone poured sand down your throat. We saw haze in our gym, so...