Induction Year: 2011
Sport: Athletics and Goalball
Ljiljana (Lilo) Ljubisic is a five-time Paralympic athlete. From 1984 to 2004, Lilo successfully represented Canada in Goalball and Para-athletics. At her first Paralympic Games in 1984, Lilo competed in Goalball where she won a silver medal. Over the next four years, she began to train in Para-athletics with a specialty in the discus throw and shotput. In fact, Lilo was the first blind athlete to ever spin with a discus.
Throughout her athletic career, Lilo recorded 19 international podium finishes and earned six Paralympic medals, including a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Paralympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
Along with her athletic achievements, Lilo has been acknowledged for her leadership and contribution to the international world of sport and the Paralympic Movement. Awards earned by Lilo include the AthletesCAN Leadership Award (2005) and the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) Women of Distinction Award (2004). She has also been named one of the 20 Most Influential Women in Sport & Physical Activity (CAAWS, 2003-2005) and was listed in the Top 100 of Canada’s Most Powerful Women in 2007 (Women’s Executive Network).
A 1992 B.C. Athlete of the Year recipient, Lilo was elected as the first female Chair of the International Paralympic Committee’s Athletes’ Council.
