Benoit Huot

Huot’s Para swimming career started in 1998 when he won five medals, including gold in the 1,500m open water race, at the World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand.

‘The Shark’, as his team mates call him, first time competed in the Paralympics in Sydney in 2000. He went on to win three gold and three silver medals.

At the 2002 World Championships in Mar del Plata, Argentina he made a real name for himself winning seven medals, four of which were gold.

His finest competition to date was arguably the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, a competition where he won five titles, broke three world records and also picked up a silver medal.

Due to his success in Athens, Swimming World Magazine named him World Disabled Swimmer of the Year 2005.

After four bronze medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, the huge golf enthusiast won one gold and three silver medals at the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Inducted into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame in 2011, Huot took three podiums in his fourth Paralympic Games at London 2012. He broke the world record to take gold in the 200m individual medley, and also won a silver and bronze medal.

Huot was chosen as flag bearer for the Canadian team at the London 2012 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony. "I would say it's by far the greatest honour that I can receive as an athlete," he said.

The veteran Para swimmer, who is in the S10 classification, found another world title at the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships at home in Montreal, Canada, against the likes of Brazil's multiple world champion Andre Brasil.

In the summer of 2014 Huot attracted attention of a different kind when thieves broke into his house and stole seven of his medals, including two from Paralympic Games. The accolades were later replaced by the relevant bodies prompting an emotional response from Huot, who said that receiving them again brought back memories from when they were first awarded.

Deciding to continue his career so that he could compete at home once again at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games, Huot collected two silver and bronze medals at the 2015 World Championhsips.

Just three weeks later he won gold in the 400m freestyle S10 at Toronto 2015 and secured a further three silver medals.

At Rio 2016, Huot took bronze in the 400m freestyle - his 20th Paralympic medal.