Wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos named Athletics Canada’s Athlete of the Year

OTTAWA – Wheelchair racing star Brent Lakatos of Dorval, Que., won the 2017 Jack W. Davis for Athlete of the Year Award from Athletics Canada on Wednesday.

Lakatos won four gold medals at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships with victories in the T53 disability category 100-m, 200-m, 400-m and 800-m. He was the favorite to win those races after setting world records at each of those distances a few week before the worlds.

‘’It’s a great honor to win the award,’’ said Lakatos, a three-time Paralympian before thanking his coaches and family. 

Lakatos was one of three finalists for the award. The others were middle distance runner Melissa Bishop and distance runner Mohammed Ahmed.

Earlier this week, Lakatos also received the Chantal Petitclerc Award for Wheelchair Athlete of the Year.

Lakatos is already off to a solid start for the 2018 season.  At the recent Swiss Grand Prix he earned gold in the 800m, silver in the 400m and bronze in the 5000m. This past weekend he collected three more medals at the Swiss Open including a Canadian record time for the T53 5000m.