Biography
Impairment information
Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency
Origin of Impairment
Acquired
Classification
T54
Further personal information
Family
Wife Ilana, daughter Amelia [2014]
Occupation
Athlete, Business Owner
Languages
French, English
Sport specific information
When and where did you begin this sport?
He took up wheelchair racing at age 18 after recovering from the loss of his leg. He admits he did not do a lot of sport growing up. "It's hard to believe today, but I was anything but sporty before. I was even a little paunchy."
Why this sport?
He watched wheelchair racing on television at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, and then contacted the Quebec Wheelchair Sports Association in Canada. The organisation introduced him to wheelchair sprinter Daniel Normandin, who encouraged him to pursue the sport. "I watched the Olympics on television and there was a wheelchair race demonstration with Chantal Petitclerc and Diane Roy. I do not know exactly why, but I automatically fell in love. That was what I wanted to do."
Training Regime
He and his wife train together in a gym in their basement, often in the evenings after their daughter has gone to bed. They both train for about 15 hours a week.
General interest
Nicknames
Alex (actionsportsmanagement.ca, 26 Sep 2012)
Awards and honours
He was named the 2018 Para Athlete of the Year by the Quebec Athletics Federation in Canada. (coupdoeil.info, 02 Dec 2018)
He was named the 2014 Wheelchair Athlete of the Year by Athletics Canada. (athletics.ca, 27 Mar 2015)
He was named the 2014 Wheelchair Athlete of the Year by Athletics Canada. (athletics.ca, 27 Mar 2015)
Famous relatives
His wife Ilana Dupont represented Canada in athletics at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and competed at four editions of the world championships between 2013 and 2019. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 May 2020; toronto2015.org, 14 Aug 2015)
Ambitions
To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (coupdoeil.info, 30 Jan 2019)
Impairment
His right leg was amputated after he was involved in a motorcycle accident at age 17. He spent six months in hospital learning how to walk again. (coupdoeil.info, 23 Feb 2017; cyclonesroadandtrack.com, 14 Sep 2010)
Other information
BUSINESS
He owns Revolution Sport Equipment, a company that manufactures specialist equipment for wheelchair racers, including many of his competitors "We pay a lot of attention to detail. I am an athlete myself. I know their needs and there is not one athlete harder than me in the world. My products, I test them and I use them. If I sell so much, it's because I'm doing the best." (Facebook profile, 05 Sep 2019; nyrr.org, 19 Mar 2017; ici.radio-canada.ca, 01 Sep 2016)
RIO RE-RACE
He was part of the Canadian team that won bronze in the T53/T54 4x400m relay at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. However, they only secured a place on the podium after the final was re-run due to an error by race officials, who had confused the Canadian and Korean teams resulting in the Canadian team being assigned to the wrong lane. After initially finishing outside the medals, the Canadian team launched a successful protest and the final was re-run. "We had the best race of our lives. We broke the Canadian record and won the bronze." (coupdoeil.info, 23 Feb 2017)
He owns Revolution Sport Equipment, a company that manufactures specialist equipment for wheelchair racers, including many of his competitors "We pay a lot of attention to detail. I am an athlete myself. I know their needs and there is not one athlete harder than me in the world. My products, I test them and I use them. If I sell so much, it's because I'm doing the best." (Facebook profile, 05 Sep 2019; nyrr.org, 19 Mar 2017; ici.radio-canada.ca, 01 Sep 2016)
RIO RE-RACE
He was part of the Canadian team that won bronze in the T53/T54 4x400m relay at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. However, they only secured a place on the podium after the final was re-run due to an error by race officials, who had confused the Canadian and Korean teams resulting in the Canadian team being assigned to the wrong lane. After initially finishing outside the medals, the Canadian team launched a successful protest and the final was re-run. "We had the best race of our lives. We broke the Canadian record and won the bronze." (coupdoeil.info, 23 Feb 2017)
Results
Unit | Date | Rank |
---|
Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men's 800 m T54 | Heat 3 | 2011-01-22 | 5 | |
Men's 200 m T54 | Heat 1 | 2011-01-24 | 5 | |
Men's 4x400 m T54 | Heat 2 | 2011-01-24 | 2 | |
Men's 400 m T54 | Heat 4 | 2011-01-27 | 5 | |
Men's 4x400 m T54 | Final | 2011-01-29 | 3 |
Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men's 5000 m T54 | Heat 3 | 2012-08-31 | 9 | |
Men's 400 m T54 | Heat 1 | 2012-09-05 | 4 | |
Men's 800 m T54 | Heat 3 | 2012-09-05 | 6 | |
Men's 4x400 m T53/54 | Heat 2 | 2012-09-08 | 2 |
Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men's 400 m T54 | Semifinal 2 | 2013-07-21 | 10 | |
Men's 800 m T54 | Semifinal 1 | 2013-07-22 | 10 | |
Men's 5000 m T54 | Semifinal 1 | 2013-07-23 | 14 | |
Men's 1500 m T54 | Semifinal 2 | 2013-07-25 | 15 | |
Men's 4x400 m T53/54 | Final 1 | 2013-07-27 | 1 | |
Men's 4x400 m T53/54 | Semifinal 1 | 2013-07-27 | 2 |
Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men's 1500 m T54 | Heat 3 | 2015-10-23 | 12 | |
Men's 400 m T54 | Heat 2 | 2015-10-27 | 12 | |
Men's 800 m T54 | Heat 1 | 2015-10-28 | 9 | |
Men's 800 m T54 | Semifinal 1 | 2015-10-29 | 12 |
Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men's 400 m T54 | Heat 2 | 2016-09-11 | 6 | |
Men's 1500 m T54 | Heat 1 | 2016-09-12 | 7 | |
Men's 800 m T54 | Heat 3 | 2016-09-14 | 6 | |
Men's 4x400 m T53/54 | Heat 1 | 2016-09-16 | 3 | |
Men's 4x400 m T53/54 | Final Round | 2016-09-17 | 3 |
Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Men's 1500 m T54 | Heat 3 | 2017-07-16 | 15 | |
Men's 800 m T54 | Heat 2 | 2017-07-17 | 14 | |
Men's 400 m T54 | Heat 2 | 2017-07-19 | 14 | |
Men's 5000 m T54 | Heat 1 | 2017-07-22 | 15 |