Press Releases

BOURGONJE WINS CANADA’S FIRST PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES MEDAL ON HOME SOIL

14 March 2010
March 14, 2010 (Whistler) - Sit-skier Colette Bourgonje (Saskatoon) made history Sunday by becoming the first Canadian winter Paralympic athlete to win a medal on home soil. She captured the silver medal in the women’s 10 kilometre sitting category. Bourgonje won bronze in the same event at the 2006 Games. The achievement marks the ninth Paralympic medal for Bourgonje, who has earned five medals in cross-country skiing and four medals in athletics.
“Wow – I’m shocked and I can’t believe it. I don’t think it has sunk in yet. I am still racing because I wanted to compete at a Paralympics in Canada and I’m just so proud to have done this in front of Canadians. I share this medal with all of Canada. Our wax techs were awesome because these skis were flying today. I may be standing on the podium, but this medal is our entire teams to share. We were all in this together. The support we have received from Canada through our personal sponsors, government and Own the Podium has made the difference and I am so appreciative of everything they have done for us athletes. Age means nothing, attitude is everything. I live by that every day and I think that came through today.”
PARALYMPIC MEDIA HISTORY FOR COLETTE BOURGONJE

Year    Sport    Event    Medal
1992    Athletics     Women's 100 m TW3    Bronze
1992    Athletics     Women's 800 m TW3
Bronze
1996    Athletics     Women's 100 m T52
Bronze
1996    Athletics     Women's 200 m T52
Bronze
1998    Cross Country Skiing     Women's 2.5 km Sitski LW10-12
Silver
1998    Cross Country Skiing     Women's 5 km Sitski LW10-12
Silver
2006    Cross Country Skiing     Women's 10 km sitski
Bronze
2006    Cross Country Skiing     Women's 5 km sitski
Bronze
2010    Cross Country Skiing    Women’s 10 km sitski    

MEDIA AVAILABILITY

Who:    Colette Bourgonje, silver medalist from Para-Nordic will be available to the media.

How:    Accredited media only - Whistler Medals Plaza, Whistler at 19:00 PT.
All media - Canada Paralympic House (Whistler Public Library) immediately following medal ceremony.

About the Canadian Paralympic Committee
The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is a non-profit, private organisation with 43 member sports organisations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic Movement.  The CPC is responsible for creating an optimal high-performance environment for the Canadian Paralympic athletes to win at Paralympic and ParaPanAmerican Games.  By supporting Canadian Paralympic athletes and promoting their success, the CPC inspires all Canadians with a physical disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organisations.  For more information, visit www.paralympic.ca.

Follow the Canadian Paralympic Committee by becoming a fan on Facebook, and following on Twitter.

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For further information please contact:
Michael Cvitkovic
Press Chief
Canadian Paralympic Committee
mcvitkovic@tenniscanada.com
(416) 618-1266

Chris Dornan
Media Attache, Para-Nordic
Public Relations and Media
Cross Country Canada
hpprchris@comcast.net
(281) 703-4394

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