James Anseeuw

James Anseeuw (born September 16, 1959) is a Canadian Wheelchair curler. As the oldest Canadian Paralympic athlete, he helped Canada win a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in South Korea.

James Anseeuw
Personal information
Born (1959-09-16) September 16, 1959
Oak Bluff, Manitoba, Canada
Sport
Country Canada
SportWheelchair curling
Turned pro2014
Medal record
Wheelchair curling
Representing  Canada
Paralympic Games
2018 PyeongChang Mixed team

Early life

Anseeuw was born on September 16, 1959 in Oak Bluff, Manitoba, Canada.[1]

Career

In the 1990s, Anseeuw was a semi-professional snowmobile racer until he became paralyzed after a crash on March 27, 1999.[2][3] At the time of the accident, Anseeuw was team manager for the Flying Canucks and Arctic Cat's Canadian Racing Coordinator.[4] The Arctic Cat's began a trust fund in his name,[5] and mentoree Blair Morgan began raising money for spinal cord research.[6]

In 2014, Anseeuw was convinced to try wheelchair curling by Dennis Thiessen.[7] He trained with the Assiniboine Curling Club and competed with Team Manitoba at the 2014 Canadian wheelchair curling championship, where they finished in first place.[8] A few years later, he again won gold with Team Manitoba at the 2017 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Champions.[9]

Eventually, at the age of 58, Anseeuw was the oldest athlete selected to compete for Team Canada at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in South Korea.[10] However, the team was eliminated in the semi-finals which earned them a bronze medal.[11]

References
  1. "Jamie Anseeuw" (PDF). curling.ca. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  2. Bell, Jason (December 15, 2002). "Spectacular crash, finishes thrill 4, 200 at Assiniboia Downs". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg.
  3. "Two Manitoba Snowmobilers hurt in Calgary race". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg. March 29, 1999.
  4. Castellanos, Vince (November 1999). "State of the sport: Snocross Who's hot to watch in 2000?". espn.com. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  5. "Jamie Anseeuw Trust Funds Established". amsnow.com. April 20, 1999. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  6. Nowacki, Jon (November 30, 2008). "Duluth National Snocross: Paralyzed racer recounts his accident, recuperation". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  7. "James Anseeuw". paralympic.ca. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  8. "MANITOBA WINS CANADIAN WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONSHIP". curling.ca. May 4, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  9. "GOLD FOR MANITOBA AT CANADIAN WHEELCHAIR CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP". curling.ca. April 30, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  10. @Devin_Heroux (February 26, 2018). "Wheelchair curler James Anseeuw is the oldest Canadian athlete at 58 while Para hockey player James Dunn is the youngest at 17" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. Macdonell, Laurie (March 20, 2018). "TWO MANITOBAN'S PART OF BRONZE MEDAL PARALYMPIC CURLING TEAM". curlmanitoba.org. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
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