Denis Lapalme
Personal information
Full nameDenis Orval Lapalme
Born(1959-04-29)29 April 1959
Timmins, Ontario, Canada
Died1 November 2021(2021-11-01) (aged 62)
Sport
Country Canada
SportParalympic athletics
Paralympic swimming
Disability classC1
Medal record
Paralympic swimming
Representing  Canada
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place1980 Arnhem100m backstroke C1-D1
Silver medal – second place1976 Toronto100m breaststroke C1
Silver medal – second place1980 Arnhem100m breaststroke C1
Bronze medal – third place1976 Toronto100m freestyle C1
Bronze medal – third place1980 Arnhem100m freestyle C1-C1
Paralympic athletics
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place1980 Arnhem100m C1
Gold medal – first place1980 ArnhemJavelin throw C1

Denis Orval Lapalme (April 29, 1959 – November 1, 2021) was a Canadian amputee athlete and actor, most noted as a competitor and medalist at the Paralympic Games.[1]

Born in Timmins, Ontario, Lapalme lost both legs in a train accident in childhood.[2] As an adult he was based principally in Ottawa, where he has worked as a civil servant.[2]

Athletic career

He competed in swimming at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, winning a bronze medal in the men's 100-metre freestyle and a silver in the men's 100-metre breaststroke.[1]

At the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem, Netherlands, he competed in both track and swimming, winning gold medals in the men's 100-metre sprint, javelin and 100-meter backstroke, a silver medal in the 100-metre breaststroke, and a bronze medal in the 100-metre freestyle.[1]

Lapalme competed on the men's wheelchair basketball team at both the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea[3] and the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain.[4] but the team did not medal at either event.

He also competed nationally and internationally in other track and wheelchair basketball competitions below the Paralympic level,[5] including at the IWAS World Games in 1979.[6]

Although no longer active as a Paralympic competitor after 1992, he remained involved in sports as late as the early 2010s as captain of the Ottawa Sledgehammers, the city's sledge hockey team.[7] Lapalme died on November 1, 2021, in Hull, Quebec at the age of 62 of brain cancer.[8]

Acting

Following the end of his Paralympic career he was cast in his first acting role, as Jerome of Sandy Cove in Phil Comeau's 1994 film Jerome's Secret.[9] He subsequently had small parts in the films Bleeders and Two Lovers and a Bear, and an episode of the television series F/X: The Series.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Robert Lagacé, "Denis Lapalme heureux d'avoir vécu dans le «secret» sur grand écran". L'Acadie Nouvelle, October 13, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Randy Phillips, "Lapalme leads way to Defi crown". Montreal Gazette, May 5, 1997.
  3. ↑ Rick Mayoh, "Strong Canadian team in medal chase at Seoul Paralympics". Ottawa Citizen, October 15, 1988.
  4. ↑ "Paralympic gold for Regina racer". Edmonton Journal, September 9, 1992.
  5. ↑ "Bronze for Canada". Edmonton Journal, August 12, 1990.
  6. ↑ "Canadians add gold in Stoke Mandeville". The Globe and Mail, September 1, 1979.
  7. ↑ "Diverse mix of players produces winning formula for Ottawa Sledgehammers". Toronto.com, April 21, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Denis Orval Lapalme". The Ottawa Citizen. November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  9. ↑ "The Acadian Tale About A Mysterious Amputee". Canada AM, March 30, 1995.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.