Sport a way of life for Para cyclist Charles Moreau

Before and after his accident, there was always sports in Charles Moreau’s life.

“My father (Simon Moreau) was a chiropractor and he always showed by example the importance of sports and natural health habits,” said Moreau, who is also a chiropractor. “We were encouraged to get into sports but he wanted to be sure we got involved in something we enjoyed and he wanted it to be a part of our daily life.’’

By the time he reached university, Moreau began to train and compete in triathlons. He had no ambitions of high-performance success though, and school and sport gave him life balance and healthy habits.

All changed in January 2008. Moreau’s vehicle broke down on Pont Laviolette in Trois-Rivières and while waiting for assistance a truck crashed into his car, leaving the 25-year-old a paraplegic. He was able to resume his athletic career by July with his triathlon friends who helped him navigate his new challenges in the pool, bike and road. 

‘’When our life changes so drastically there are some things that are harder to accept,’’ said Moreau, now 39, from Victoriaville, Que. ‘’But sport was a very important part of my life prior to the accident and I was able to transpose that rather easily into my new reality.’’

Hand cycling was a brand new experience for him and he discovered he enjoyed it. At first his focus was Para triathlon. He won the silver medal at the 2009 world championships, followed by fourth-place finishes at the following three worlds.

But back then Para triathlon wasn’t part of the Paralympic Games program, so in 2013 Moreau decided to put all his focus on hand cycling, which was his best of the three Para triathlon events.

‘’That’s when my dream to compete at the Games really started,’’ he said. ‘’I realized through those small provincial races all the way to world championships that if I could put in the necessary efforts the Paralympic dream could become a reality.’’

And so it did in 2016. Moreau helped the cycling team to a sport high nine medals for Canada at the Rio Games with bronze in the road race and individual time trial. Since then he has accumulated numerous successes on the Para cycling World Cup circuit and at world championships. 

He is back for a second Games in Tokyo and once again he is one of Canada’s top medal contenders.

For more stories about Canada’s Tokyo 2020 Paralympians, visit Paralympic.ca/powerofsport