Canada at the Paralympics

Canada has participated eleven times in the Summer Paralympic Games and in all Winter Paralympic Games. They first competed at the Summer Games in 1968 and the Winter Games in 1976.

Canada at the Paralympics
Flag of Canada
IPC code	CAN
NPC	Canadian Paralympic Committee
Website	www.paralympic.ca
Summer appearances
1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Winter appearances
1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018

Milestones

At the 2000 Summer Paralympics, Stephanie Dixon sets the Canadian record for most gold medals at a single Paralympics, Winter or Summer, with 5.[1]

At the 2002 Winter Paralympics, Canada set a new total Canadian gold medal record haul at a Winter Paralympics, with 6.[2]

At the 2004 Summer Paralympics, Chantal Petitclerc ties the 5 gold medal record at a single Games.[1] She also won the demonstration sport of Wheelchair Racing in the 2004 Summer Olympics.

At the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Chantal Petitclerc again ties the 5 gold medal record at a single Games.[1]

In 2010, Brian McKeever of Canada became the first athlete in the world to be named to the Winter Paralympics and Winter Olympics teams in the same year. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, he was scheduled to compete in the men's 50 km cross-country race.[3][4][5]

At the 2010 Winter Paralympics, Viviane Forest became the first para-athlete to win a gold in both the Winter and Summer Games, by winning the Women's Downhill for Visually Impaired. She had previously won gold in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Paralympics for women's goalball.[6][7]

Lauren Woolstencroft became the first Canadian to win 3 golds at the same Winter Paralympics, at the 2010 edition,[8] this was eventually upped to 5 golds. With her 4th gold medal, she helped Canada set a record for most gold medals at any Winter Paralympic Games by winning the 7th medal. The previous mark was six, set at the 2002 Salt Lake City Paralympics.[2] With her 5th gold medal, she set the record for most gold medals won by any Winter Paralympian at a single Games, and she tied the record for gold medal haul of any Canadian Paralympian at a single Games, tying Chantal Petitclerc (who did the feat twice) and Stephanie Dixon, both Summer Paralympians.[1] Her five gold are also the record for any Canadian Winter Paralympian or Olympian.[9]

At the 2010 Games, Canada collected the most total medals and the most gold medals of any Winter Paralympics, up through 2010 for Canada, with 19 total medals, and 10 golds.[10]

At the 2018 Winter Paralympics cross country skier Brian McKeever became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian when he won a 14th medal in five Games from 2002 to 2018, passing the late Lana Spreeman, who won 13 medals in para-alpine skiing between 1980 and 1994.[11]

Hosting the Games

Canada has hosted the Games twice.

Games	Host city	Dates	Nations	Participants	Events
1976 Summer Paralympics	Toronto	August 3 to August 11, 1976	32	1657	447 in 13 sports
2010 Winter Paralympics	Vancouver	March 12 to March 21, 2010	44	506	64 in 5 sports

In 1976, and in 2010, Canada also hosted the Olympic Games counterpart, the 1976 Summer Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics respectively. Canada did not host the Paralympic Games counterpart to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta; this was the last Winter Olympics that the host city did not also host the Winter Paralympics. The 1988 Summer Paralympics was the first Paralympics to be linked to the hosting of the Summer Olympics. The 1976 Summer Olympics were hosted in Montreal, and not linked to the Toronto Paralympiad.

Medals

The ranking in these table is based on information provided by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and is consistent with IPC convention in its published medal tables, ordered first of all by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won, followed by the number of silver medals and then the number of bronze medals.

Medals by Summer Games

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1968 Tel-Aviv	6	6	7	19
1972 Heidelberg	5	6	8	19
1976 Toronto (Host)	25	26	26	77
1980 Arnhem	64	35	31	130
1984 New York-Stoke Mandeville	87	82	69	238
1988 Seoul	54	42	55	151
1992 Barcelona-Madrid	29	23	29	81
1996 Atlanta	24	24	24	72
2000 Sydney	38	33	25	96
2004 Athens	28	19	25	72
2008 Beijing	19	10	21	50
2012 London	7	15	9	31
2016 Rio	8	10	11	29
Totals (13 games)	394	331	340	1065

Medals by sport

  Leading in that sport

Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Athletics	198	162	166	526
Swimming	163	123	123	409
Wheelchair basketball	6	1	1	8
Cycling	5	13	13	31
Lawn bowls	4	1	2	7
Wrestling	3	7	0	10
Shooting	3	3	1	7
Archery	3	0	1	4
Goalball	2	1	3	6
Boccia	1	3	5	9
Equestrian	1	2	6	9
Table tennis	1	1	4	6
Sailing	1	1	2	4
Powerlifting	0	3	0	3
Wheelchair rugby	0	2	1	3
Football 7-a-side	0	1	0	1
Paratriathlon	0	1	0	1
Volleyball	0	1	0	1
Judo	0	0	4	4
Rowing	0	0	1	1
Totals (20 sports)	391	326	333	1050

Medals by Winter Games

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1976 Örnsköldsvik	2	0	2	4
1980 Geilo	2	3	1	6
1984 Innsbruck	2	8	4	14
1988 Innsbruck	5	3	5	13
1992 Tignes-Albertsville	2	4	6	12
1994 Lillehammer	1	2	5	8
1998 Nagano	1	9	5	15
2002 Salt Lake City	6	4	5	15
2006 Turin	5	3	5	13
2010 Vancouver (Host)	10	5	4	19
2014 Sochi	7	2	7	16
2018 Pyeongchang	8	4	16	28
Totals (12 games)	51	47	65	163

Medals by sport

  Leading in that sport

Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Alpine skiing	26	37	46	109
Cross-country skiing	19	6	10	35
Wheelchair curling	3	0	1	4
Biathlon	2	2	6	10
Para ice hockey	1	2	2	5
Totals (5 sports)	51	47	65	163

Records

Summer Paralympics

Multi medalists

This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least three gold medals or five medals at the Summer Paralympics. Bold athletes are athletes who are still in active.

No.	Athlete	Sport	Years	Games	Gender	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Michael Edgson	Swimming	1984-1992	3	M	18	3	0	21
2	Chantal Petitclerc	Athletics	1992-2008	5	F	14	5	2	21
3	Benoît Huot	Swimming	2000-2016	5	M	9	5	6	20
3	Walter Wu	Swimming	1996-2004	3	M	9	4	2	15
4	Stephanie Dixon	Swimming	2000-2008	3	F	7	8	2	17
4	Arnold Boldt	Athletics	1976-1992, 2012	6	M	7	1	0	8
5	Joanne Mucz	Swimming	1984-1992	3	F	6	2	0	8
6	Lisa Franks	Athletics	2000-2008	3	F	6	1	0	7
	Jessica Sloan	Swimming	2000	1	F	6	1	0	7
	Michelle Stilwell	Athletics Wheelchair basketball	2000-2016	5	F	6	1	0	7
6	Joanne Bouw	Athletics	1984-1996	4	F	5	0	2	7
7	Eugene Reimer	Athletics	1968-1980	4	M	4	5	2	11
8	Valerie Grand'Maison	Swimming	2008-2012	2	F	4	4	0	8
8	Jacques Martin	Athletics	1984-2000	5	M	4	3	2	9
9	Andre Viger	Athletics	1980-1996	5	M	3	3	4	10
10	Danielle Campo	Swimming	2000-2004	2	F	3	2	2	7
10	Rick Hansen	Athletics	1980-1984	2	M	3	2	1	6
11	Aurelie Rivard	Swimming	2012-2016	2	F	3	2	0	5
11	Philippe Gagnon	Swimming	2000	1	M	3	1	0	4
12	Andre Beaudoin	Athletics	1988-2008	6	M	2	7	6	15
13	Marc Quessy	Athletics	1988-1996	3	M	1	5	2	8
14	Brent Lakatos	Athletics	2012-2016	2	M	1	4	2	7
15	John Belanger	Athletics	1984-1988	2	M	0	4	0	4
16	Joyce Murland	Athletics Shooting	1972-1976	2	F	0	2	3	5

Multi golds at single Games

This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least two gold medals in a single Games. Ordered categorically by gold medals earned, sports then year.

No.	Athlete	Sport	Year	Gender	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Athletics
1	Tham Simpson	Athletics	1984	F	5	0	0	5
2	Lisa Franks	Athletics	2000	F	4	1	0	5
3	Jamie Bone	Athletics	1988	M	3	0	1	4
4	Laura Misciagna	Athletics	1980	F	3	0	0	3
	Richard Reelie	Athletics	1988	M	3	0	0	3
	Frank Bruno	Athletics	1992	M	3	0	0	3
6	Eugene Reimer	Athletics	1968	M	2	1	0	3
	Rick Hansen	Athletics	1984	M	2	1	0	3
8	James Shaw	Athletics	1996	M	2	0	1	3
Swimming
1	Michael Edgson	Swimming	1988	M	9	0	0	9
2	Jessica Sloan	Swimming	2000	F	6	1	0	7
3	Walter Wu	Swimming	1996	M	6	0	1	7
4	Stephanie Dixon	Swimming	2000	F	5	2	0	7
5	Joanne Mucz	Swimming	1992	F	5	0	0	5
6	Valerie Grand'Maison	Swimming	2008	F	3	2	0	5
7	Danielle Campo	Swimming	2000	F	3	1	0	4
	Philippe Gagnon	Swimming	2000	M	3	1	0	4
	Aurelie Rivard	Swimming	2016	F	3	1	0	4
10	Summer Mortimer	Swimming	2012	F	2	1	1	4
Multiple sports
1	Martha Gustafson	Athletics	1984	F	5	0	0	7
		Swimming			1	1	0

Multi medals at single event

This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least three medals in a single event at the Summer Paralympics. Ordered categorically by medals earned, sports then gold medals earned.

No.	Athlete	Sport	Event	Years	Games	Gender	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Arnold Boldt	Athletics	High jump	1976-1992	5	M	5	0	0	5
2	Benoît Huot	Swimming	200m individual medley	2000-2016	5	M	3	0	1	4
3	Martha Gustafson	Athletics	Discus throw	1976-1984	3	F	3	0	0	3
4	Walter Wu	Swimming	400m freestyle	1996-2004	3	M	2	1	0	3
	Kirby Cote	Swimming	200m individual medley	2000-2008	3	F	2	1	0	3

Most appearances

This is a list of Canadian athletes who have competed in four or more Summer Paralympics. Active athletes are in bold. Athletes who were aged under 15 years of age and over 40 years of age are in bold.

No.	Athlete	Sport	Birth Year	Games Years	First/Last Age	Gender	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Clayton Gerein	Athletics	1964	1984-2008	20 - 40	M	3	1	1	5
2	Arnold Boldt	Athletics Cycling	1957	1976-1992, 2012	18 - 35	M	7	1	0	8
3	Andre Viger	Athletics	1952	1980-1996	27 - 43	M	3	3	4	10
	Chantal Petitclerc	Athletics	1969	1992-2008	22 - 39	F	14	5	2	21
	Paul Tingley	Sailing	1970	2000-2016	30 - 46	M	1	0	2	3
	Benoît Huot	Swimming	1984	2000-2016	26 - 32	M	9	4	6	20

Winter Paralympics

Multi-medalists

This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least two gold medals or three medals at the Winter Paralympics. Athletes in bold are still active.

No.	Athlete	Sport	Years	Games	Gender	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Brian McKeever	Cross-country skiing	2002-2018	4	M	13	2	2	17
2	Lauren Woolstencroft	Alpine skiing	2002-2010	3	F	8	1	1	10
3	Sonja Gaudet	Wheelchair curling	2006-2014	3	F	3	0	0	3
4	Mac Marcoux	Alpine skiing	2014-2018	2	M	2	0	3	5
5	Ina Forrest	Wheelchair curling	2010-2018	3	F	2	0	1	3
6	Lana Spreeman	Alpine skiing	1980-1994	5	F	1	6	6	13
7	Viviane Forest	Alpine skiing	2010	1	F	1	3	1	5
8	Stacy Kohut	Alpine skiing	1994-2002	3	F	1	3	0	4
9	Mark Arendz	Biathlon	2014-2018	2	M	1	2	2	5
10	Mollie Jepsen	Alpine skiing	2018	1	F	1	1	2	4
	Chris Williamson	Alpine skiing	2002-2014	4	M	1	1	2	4
11	Natalie Wilkie	Cross country skiing	2018	1	F	1	1	1	3
12	Karolina Wisniewska	Alpine skiing	1998-2002, 2010	3	F	0	4	4	8

Multi golds at one game

This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least two gold medals at a single Winter Paralympics. Order by gold medals earned, sport then year.

No.	Athlete	Sport	Year	Gender	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Lauren Woolstencroft	Alpine skiing	2010	F	5	0	0	5

Multi medals at one game

This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least three medals in a single event at the Winter Paralympics. Order by medals earned, sport then year.

No.	Athlete	Sport	Event	Years	Gender	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Brian McKeever	Cross-country skiing	10 km cross country	2002-2018	M	5	0	0	5
2	Sonja Gaudet	Wheelchair curling	Mixed curling team	2006-2014	F	3	0	0	3
3	Ina Forrest	Wheelchair curling	Mixed curling team	2010-2018	F	2	0	1	3

Most appearances

This is a list of Canadian athletes who have competed in at least four Winter Paralympics. Still active athletes are in bold.

No.	Athlete	Sport	Born Year	Games Years	First/Last Age	Gender	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Lana Spreeman	Alpine skiing	1955	1980-1994	24 - 38	F	1	6	6	13

See also

• Canadian Paralympic Committee
• Canadian Paralympic Athletics Championships
• Canada at the Olympics
• Canada at the Commonwealth Games
• Canada at the Pan American Games

References

1. Vancouver Sun, "Woolstencroft wins fifth gold medal" Archived 2018-10-04 at the Wayback Machine, CanWest News Service, 21 March 2010 (accessed 21 March 2010)
2. Canada Newswire, "Woolstencroft lifts Canada to record winter paralympic performance", CNW Group, 19 March 2010 (accessed 3 March 2020)
3. Vancouver Sun, "Legally blind skier embodies the Olympic ideal", Miro Cernetig, 17 February 2010 (accessed 21 February 2010)
4. Associated Press, "Canada's McKeever to ski at Olympics, Paralympics", Rachel Cohen, 17 February 2010 (accessed 21 February 2010)
5. Boston Herald, "Blind Olympian doesn’t believe in limits", Steve Kelley, 20 February 2010 (accessed 21 February 2010)
6. Vancouver Sun, "Paralympic para-alpine skiing: Canada’s Viviane Forest does the trifecta, wins visually impaired downhill gold" Archived 2010-03-23 at the Wayback Machine, Mike Beamish, 18 March 2010 (accessed 19 March 2010)
7. Vancouver Sun, "Para-alpine star Viviane Forest has potential for huge Games medal haul" Archived 2010-03-24 at the Wayback Machine, John Korobanik, 11 March 2010 (accessed 19 March 2010)
8. The Province, "Nation thrills at triple gold win", Ian Austin, 19 March 2010 (accessed 19 March 2010)
9. CTV News Channel, "News Weekend", 10:15am broadcast, airdate 21 March 2010
10. Canada News Wire, "Canada concludes most successful Paralympic Winter Games", CNW Telbec, 22 March 2010 (accessed 24 March 2010)
11. Hall, Vicki (March 12, 2018). "Brian McKeever's 'relentless' drive leads to historic Paralympic gold". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 12, 2018.

• "Results". International Paralympic Committee. 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-19.