Dean Bergeron
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 Bergeron in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
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| Born | February 12, 1969 (age 56) La Baie, Quebec, Canada |
Dean Bergeron (born February 12, 1969, in La Baie, Quebec (now Saguenay, Quebec) is a Paralympic athlete from Canada who competed mainly in category T52 sprint events in four Paralympic Games and is pursuing a career as an actuary.
Paralympian career
Bergeron was born in La Baie, Quebec (now Saguenay) on February 12, 1969. In 1986, at age 17, he joined the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to pursue professional ice hockey at the age of 17 years old. In a fistfight during a training session match in 1987, he sustained a spinal cord injury and became paraplegic.[1] He returned to physical activity during his studies in actuarial science at Laval University.[2]
Bergeron continued in the field of athletics with wheelchair racing, also known as track and field athletics. He participated in several world championships and other international competitions presenting the event. He competed at the Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Games, and recorded a total of 11 Paralympic medals.[3][4]
Bergeron holds the world record in the 200m distance. He was the first athlete in his discipline to break the 400-meter distance in less than a minute (58s 54). He also holds the Canadian records for 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m of this discipline.[5] He was a triple medalist at the 2008 Paralympic Games (two gold and one bronze).
He has also participated in the Boston Marathons in 1999 and 2004 and the Ottawa Marathons in 2006 and 2007 in the wheelchair racing category. He won the marathon at his first participation in 1999. For the years 2004, 2006 and 2007, he finished 2nd, 7th and 2nd respectively.[3]
Paralympic Games Results
At the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, United States, he won a gold medal in the men's 200 metres - T51 event, a silver medal in the men's 400 metres - T51 event, a silver medal in the men's 1500 metres - T51 event and a bronze medal in the men's 100 metres - T51 event.
At the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia, he won a bronze medal in the men's 200 metres - T51 event, a bronze medal in the men's 400 metres - T51 event, finished fifth in the men's 100 metres - T51 event and finished sixth in the men's 800 metres - T51 event.
At the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece, he won a bronze medal in the men's 800 metres - T52 event, finished fourth in the men's 200 metres - T52 event, finished fifth in the men's 400 metres - T52 event and did not finish in the men's 1500 metres - T52 event.
At the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China, he won a gold medal in the men's 100 metres - T52 event, a gold medal in the men's 200 metres - T52 event, a bronze medal in the men's 400 metres - T52 event and finished sixth in the men's 800 metres - T52 event
World Championships results
- 2002-07: CIP World Championships (Lille/Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France)
Event: 100m Position: 2nd position Result: 18.64
- 2002-07: CIP World Championships (Lille/Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France)
Event: 400m Position: 2nd position Result:
- 2002-07: CIP World Championships (Lille/Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France)
Event: 200m Position: 3rd position Result: 35.02
- 1998-08-13: World Championships (Birmingham, United Kingdom)
Event: 200m, 800m Position: 2nd position Result:
- 1995: World Championships (Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom)
Event: 100m Position: 1st position Result:
- 1995: World Championships (Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom)
Event: 200m, 400m, 1500m Position: 1st position Result:
Event: 800 m Position: 1st position Result: 32.07[6]
Career in insurance
In addition to athletics, Bergeron also pursued a career in the insurance field. Since 1993, he has been working in the field of life insurance. He has held positions as an insurance products advisor, including at Desjardins Financial Security.[7] In June 2009, Bergeron joined La Capitale Financial Group, holding various executive positions including Director of Marketing and Health Promotion,[8] and Senior Director of Operations.[9] He holds the position of Vice President of Administration and Client Relations in the group insurance sector of this company.[10]
From 2014 to 2020, Bergeron served on the Board of Directors at Praxis Spinal Cord Institute, a Canadian not-for-profit organization for spinal cord injury research and care.[11]