 Bergeron in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 12, 1969 (1969-02-12) (age 57) La Baie, Quebec, Canada |
Dean Bergeron (born February 12, 1969, inLa Baie, Quebec (nowSaguenay, Quebec) is aParalympicathlete fromCanada who competed mainly in category T52 sprint events in fourParalympic Games and is pursuing a career as anactuary.
Bergeron was born inLa Baie, Quebec (nowSaguenay) on February 12, 1969. In 1986, at age 17, he joined theShawinigan Cataractes of theQuebec Major Junior Hockey League to pursue professional ice hockey at the age of 17 years old. In a fistfight during a training session match in 1987, he sustained aspinal cord injury and becameparaplegic.[1] He returned to physical activity during his studies inactuarial science atLaval University.[2]
Bergeron continued in the field of athletics with wheelchair racing, also known astrack and field athletics. He participated in several world championships and other international competitions presenting the event. He competed at theAtlanta 1996,Sydney 2000,Athens 2004 andBeijing 2008 Games, and recorded a total of 11Paralympic medals.[3][4]
Bergeron holds the world record in the 200m distance. He was the first athlete in his discipline to break the 400-meter distance in less than a minute (58s 54). He also holds the Canadian records for 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m of this discipline.[5] He was a triple medalist at the 2008Paralympic Games (two gold and one bronze).
He has also participated in theBoston Marathons in 1999 and 2004 and theOttawa Marathons in 2006 and 2007 in the wheelchair racing category. He won the marathon at his first participation in 1999. For the years 2004, 2006 and 2007, he finished 2nd, 7th and 2nd respectively.[3]
At the1996 Summer Paralympics inAtlanta, United States, he won a gold medal in the men's 200 metres - T51 event, a silver medal in the men's 400 metres - T51 event, a silver medal in the men's 1500 metres - T51 event and a bronze medal in the men's 100 metres - T51 event.
At the2000 Summer Paralympics inSydney,Australia, he won a bronze medal in the men's 200 metres - T51 event, a bronze medal in the men's 400 metres - T51 event, finished fifth in the men's 100 metres - T51 event and finished sixth in the men's 800 metres - T51 event.
At the2004 Summer Paralympics inAthens,Greece, he won a bronze medal in the men's 800 metres - T52 event, finished fourth in the men's 200 metres - T52 event, finished fifth in the men's 400 metres - T52 event and did not finish in the men's 1500 metres - T52 event.
At the2008 Summer Paralympics inBeijing,China, he won a gold medal in the men's 100 metres - T52 event, a gold medal in the men's 200 metres - T52 event, a bronze medal in the men's 400 metres - T52 event and finished sixth in the men's 800 metres - T52 event
Event: 100m Position: 2nd position Result: 18.64
Event: 400m Position: 2nd position Result:
Event: 200m Position: 3rd position Result: 35.02
Event: 200m, 800m Position: 2nd position Result:
Event: 100m Position: 1st position Result:
Event: 200m, 400m, 1500m Position: 1st position Result:
Event: 800 m Position: 1st position Result: 32.07[6]
In addition to athletics, Bergeron also pursued a career in the insurance field. Since 1993, he has been working in the field oflife insurance. He has held positions as an insurance products advisor, including atDesjardins Financial Security.[7] In June 2009, Bergeron joinedLa Capitale Financial Group, holding various executive positions including Director of Marketing and Health Promotion,[8] and Senior Director of Operations.[9] He holds the position of Vice President of Administration and Client Relations in thegroup insurance sector of this company.[10]
From 2014 to 2020, Bergeron served on the Board of Directors at Praxis Spinal Cord Institute, a Canadian not-for-profit organization for spinal cord injury research and care.[11]
Bergeron was named "Male Athlete of the Year" at the Sport-Québec Gala in 2009, a title recognizing the best athlete across all sports inQuebec (Chantal Petitclerc having earned the same honor on the female side the same year).[12] He was chosen as one of sixteen athletes to carry theParalympic Flame at the2010 Paralympic Winter Games ofVancouver[13] and had the honour of lighting theolympic bowl inQuebec when theflame stopped there on December 2, 2009.[14] Bergeron was admitted to the Parasports Quebec Hall of Fame in 2017.[15] That same year, he was inducted into theQuebec Sports Hall of Fame [fr].[2] In April 2018, it was announced that the second ice rink of the Center Jean-Claude-Tremblay ofThe Bay would bear his name. The ice rink was one designed for theParalympic sportssledge hockey.[16][17] In June of the same year, he received theGloire de l'Escolle medal [fr], also named Grand Graduate Award, which is the highest distinction awarded by the Foundation ofLaval University.[18]
On December 12, 2018, Bergeron's name was given to the second ice rink of the arena of theLa Baie borough of the city ofSaguenay in recognition of his perseverance and athletic accomplishments.
