Dave Durepos
Canadian wheelchair basketball player
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David "Dave" Durepos (born July 14, 1968) is a Canadian retired wheelchair basketball player. He is married to fellow Paralympian Sabrina Pettinicchi. As a member of Team Canada, Durepos competed in five Paralympic Games where he won 3 gold medals along with one silver. On September 25, 2012, the City of Fredericton proclaimed that date to be Dave Durepos Day.
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's wheelchair basketball | ||
Representing  Canada | ||
| Paralympic Games | ||
 | 2000 Sydney | Men's team |
| 2004 Athens | Men's team |
 | 2008 Beijing | Men's team |
| 2012 London | Men's team |
Early life
Durepos was born on July 14, 1968, in Fredericton, New Brunswick.[1] He attended and graduated from the New Brunswick Community College in 1984 with a degree in Steel Fabrication.[2] After suffering from a spinal cord injury due to a motorcycle crash in 1988, he lost the use of his legs.[3]
Career
Durepos joined Canada men's national wheelchair basketball team in 1994.[4] He served as Captain for Team Canada in the 2000 Summer Paralympics where they won their first Paralympic gold medal.[5] As a result, Durepos became the first New Brunswick player to bring home an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal.[1]
In the following years, he joined the National Wheelchair Basketball Association where he led the Milwaukee Bucks to a Final Four Championship title in 2002 and became the first Canadian to be named MVP in Division I of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association.[1] He also received Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee Medal.[6] In 2004, Durepos was selected to compete at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens.[7] While still a member of the Canada National Team, Durepos was named MVP back-to-back at the Canadian National Championships in 2006 and 2007.[1] Before retiring, Durepos helped lead Canada to a gold medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games.[8] After retiring in 2012, the City of Fredericton proclaimed that September 25 would be christened Dave Durepos Day.[9] Two years later, he was inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame.[10] He later coached New Brunswick's Canada Games wheelchair basketball team alongside his wife Sabrina Pettinicchi in 2015.[11]