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Canadians and the Olympics
DEAN BERGERON
Weelchair Athlete
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At the age of 17 Dean Bergeron joined the the Cataractes of Shawinigan of the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In 1987, during a practice session, an accident
rendered Dean a quadriplegic. He enrolled in university and and graduated, but Dean
was always an athletic person and couldn’t remain on the outside of the sporting
world for very long.
Dean began training in 1992 and at the his first Canadian Championships he received a gold, two silver and one bronze medal. He took part in several Canadian Championships and the Paralympic Games in Atlanta where he shattered two world records.
Dean travels to many cities around the world to compete. He works hard and will be competing in the Paralympic Games in Sydney where he hopes his hard work will continue to be rewarded.
PAIGE GORDON
DIVING
Paige Gordon was born in North Vancouver. She now lives in West Vanocuver and
her diving coach is Boxi Liang. She belongs to the Vancouver Aquatic Center Divers.
She has a degree in International Relations from the University of British
Columbia.
When Paige was growing up, she had a hero, Mary Lou Retton.
Paige Gordon says that you perform best whan your having fun, so enjoy the sport. She also
says that you should always have a plan on what you will do after your sport, because
school and any other education should be your major focus.
At the Commonwealth Games Paige won two silver medals and she remembers the struggles of
qualifying for her first Olympic Games.
Paige trains 6 days of the week and 3 and a half hours per day.
IAN MILLAR
EQUESTRIAN
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Ian Millar was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in
1947. He competes in show jumping and is the most succesful Canadian competitor.
He holds numerous records and was the first rider to defend the World Cup title
winning in both 1988 and 1989 aboard the legendary horse, Big Ben. He was awarded
the Order of Canada in 1986 and was Ontario's Male Athlete of the Year in 1989.
Both Big Ben and Ian Millar were inducted into the Canada Sports Hall of Fame
in 1996. This was only the second time in our history that a non-human had been
inducted. Millar will be competing in Sydney
and this is his seventh Olympic Games. Mr. Millar lives in Perth, Ontario at Millar
Brooke Farm. Millar coaches some of Canada's top riders. He has also
co-authored a book called "Riding High".