Chantal
Petitclerc

The Honourable Chantal Petitclerc ended her Paralympic Games career as one of Canada’s most decorated athletes, with a total of 21 medals (14 gold, five silver, and two bronze) captured across five Games (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008). She also broke world records 26 times.

She won five gold medals at both the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens and the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.  She is considered the most decorated female track athlete in history.

At the end of 2008, Petitclerc received the North Star Award, only the second Paralympian in history (after Rick Hansen in 1982) to be named Canada’s best annual athlete. She also received The Canadian Press Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada’s top female athlete of the year. 

When Petitclerc retired after the Beijing Games, she was the most famous Paralympic athlete in Canada and remains so to this day.

After her racing career, she has remained a significant figure within the Paralympic Movement. She was Canada’s chef de mission at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and is an international advocate for persons with disabilities.

Petitclerc participated in her first wheelchair race at the age of 18 following an accident that left her with a damaged spinal column when she was 13.