Curtis Lovejoy (May 13, 1957 – March 11, 2021) was an American Paralympic swimmer. In 2000, he won the gold medal in the men's 50 metre freestyle S2 and the men's 100 metre freestyle S2 events at the

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebr ...

held in Sydney, Australia. He also won two medals in swimming at the

2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September ...

held in Athens, Greece. He also competed in

wheelchair fencing Wheelchair fencing (also called Parafencing) is a version of fencing for athletes with a disability. Wheelchair fencing is governed by the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation that is a federation of the International Paralymp ...

Early life

In 1986, Lovejoy was paralyzed from the neck down after a car accident. He took up swimming as therapy after his accident.

Career

In 2009, Lovejoy won the gold medal in the men's 50 metre freestyle S3 event at the

2009 IPC Swimming World Championships 25 m The 2009 IPC Swimming World Championships 25 m were held from 29 November – 5 December in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was the first ever world-level short course paralympic swimming competition organised by the International Paralympic Committee ...

held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a new world record of 55.77s. He also won the bronze medal in the men's 4×50 m freestyle relay 20 pts event. Lovejoy was inducted into the Georgia Aquatics Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2015, Lovejoy competed in swimming at the

Parapan American Games The Parapan American Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities held every four years after every Pan American Games. The first Games were held in 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico. The 2003 Parapan American Ga ...

held in Toronto, Canada. He won the silver medal in the mixed 4 x 50 metre freestyle relay 20pts event. Lovejoy was also the flag bearer for the United States during the opening ceremony of the 2015 Parapan American Games. In 2019, he was inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame. He died on March 11, 2021. He retired earlier in 2021 after being diagnosed with a form of

blood cancer Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are al ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lovejoy, Curtis 1957 births 2021 deaths Swimmers from Atlanta Deaths from blood cancer Wheelchair fencers American male backstroke swimmers American male freestyle swimmers Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic swimmers for the United States Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships S2-classified para swimmers 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Parapan American Games medalists in swimming Parapan American Games silver medalists for the United States