Canada's Bourgonje to receive Paralympic award
Last Updated: Saturday, March 20, 2010 | 5:48 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Canada's Colette Bourgonje will receive the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award at the closing ceremonies of the Paralympic Winter Games. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)Cross-country skier Colette Bourgonje of Saskatoon will receive the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award at the closing ceremonies of the Paralympic Winter Games, the Canadian Paralympic Committee said Saturday.
Endo Takayuki of Japan will also receive the award.
The award recognizes elite athletes with a disability who have demonstrated an exceptional level of determination to overcome their adversities through sport and the Paralympics.
Bourgonje, 48, is competing in her ninth Paralympic Games and has won 10 medals. At the 2010 Paralympics she has a silver in the 10-kilometre sit-skiing and a bronze in the five-kilometre event.
Bourgonje competed in cross-country running until a car accident in 1980 left her with a spinal-cord injury that paralyzed her from the waist down.
'Colette is a wonderful ambassador for the Canadian Paralympic Committee and a role model for future Paralympians.'—Blair McIntosh, Canadian chef de mission
"Colette … continues to embody the paralympic movement in Canada," Blair McIntosh, chef de mission of the Canadian team, said in a release. "In addition to her success in para-nordic skiing, Colette is a wonderful ambassador for the Canadian Paralympic Committee and a role model for future Paralympians."
The Paralympic closing ceremony will be held Sunday night.
During the Paralympics, the heads of the National Paralympic Committees sent nominations for the achievement award to the International Paralympic Committee. An independent panel of judges chose the final two winners from among the nominees.
Dr. Whang Youn Dai and Sir Philip Craven, president of the IPC, will present the two athletes with a gold medal.
The mission of the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award is to enhance the will of people with a disability to conquer their adversities through the pursuit of excellence in sports and through the Paralympics.
