Canadian
Heroes
Chantal Petitclerc
http://www.chantalpetitclerc.com/2008/
Chantal
wins a 'very special' medal
July 31, 2002
MANCHESTER,
England (CP) - Chantal Petitclerc of
Montreal made history in the 800-metre
wheelchair race at the Commonwealth
Games yesterday, becoming the first
disabled athlete to win a fully recognized
gold medal at a multi-sport Games.
"This
is super important," Petitclerc
said. "We've been a demonstration
sport since Los Angeles (the 1984 Olympics),
the Olympics, the world athletics championships,
the Commonwealth Games, the Francophone
Games.
"At
last, it's an official medal that counts
for our country. We've been fighting
for this for years so this medal has
a special meaning.
"I would have been happy, regardless
of who the winner was, because it's
a really special moment for our sport.
But to be the one who wins the first
official medal is really something marvellous
and very special."
The 32-year-old
Montreal resident held off major rival
Louise Savage, who had beaten her three
straight times this season. Petitclerc's
winning time of one minute, 52.93 seconds
was 37-100ths of a second quicker than
the Australian's.
Paralympic
Medal-winner Sets Tone for Pareil, pas
pareil
Chantal Petitclerc, Paralympic Games
In
Chantal Petitclerc, Radio-Canada Television
has found the perfect host for Pareil,
pas pareil,a new half-hour, prime-time
program about people with disabilities.
A wheelchair-user since
a serious accident in her early teens,
she has gone on to become a world class
athlete, winner of two gold and three
silver medals at the 1996 Paralympic
Gamesin Atlanta. According to Jean Galarneau
of Pixcom, the Executive Producer of
the program, her main concern before
taking on the new assignment was to
make sure that the show concentrated
on what people with disabilities can
do, not what they can’t do.
The program has lived
up to her expectations. People profiled
on Pareil, pas pareilrange from a prison
psychologist and a talented comedian
to a retail sales clerk and a young
girl starting karate lessons. Their
various disabilities are not glossed
over, but are shown as part of well
rounded lives. There are two profiles
on each show, separated by some light-hearted
banter. Chantal Petitclerc introduces
the guests, of course, but she can also
liven up things by, for example, going
off on a horse-driven sulky at a race
track or trying her hand at skiing.
The programis aired Wednesday
at 7:30 p.m. on CBC’s French television
network until August 18. It is produced
in association with the Quebec chapter
of the Foundation for Independent Living.
It has similar goals but is produced
independently of the English network’s
Gemini-winning Moving On, which is also
produced in association with the Foundation.
CBC Equity Newsletter
Vol. 6, no 2, Spring 1999
