Dean Bergeron (born February 12, 1969, in

La Baie, Quebec La Baie (, ) is one of three List of boroughs in Quebec, boroughs in the city of Saguenay, Quebec, Saguenay, Quebec, Canada. It was created during 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec, Quebec's municipal reorganization in 2002. From ...

(now

Saguenay, Quebec Saguenay ( , , ) is a city in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about north of Quebec City by overland route. It is about upriver and northwest of Tadoussac, located at the confluence with the St. ...

)) is a

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

who competed mainly in category T52 sprint events in four

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

and is pursuing a career as an

actuary An actuary is a professional with advanced mathematical skills who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require investment management, asset management, ...

Biography

Bergeron was born in

(now Saguenay) on February 12, 1969. In 1986, at age 17, he joined the

Shawinigan Cataractes The Shawinigan Cataractes () are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Shawinigan, Quebec. The franchise plays their home games at the Centre Gervais Auto, and were originally known as ...

of the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

to pursue professional ice hockey. He is then 17 years old, and promised a bright future. In a fistfight during a training session match in 1987, he sustained a

spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Symptoms of ...

and became

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

. He returned to physical activity during his studies in

actuarial science Actuarial science is the discipline that applies mathematics, mathematical and statistics, statistical methods to Risk assessment, assess risk in insurance, pension, finance, investment and other industries and professions. Actuary, Actuaries a ...

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...

.« Panthéon des sports du Québec »
Biographie de: Dean Bergeron, (consulté le 18 September 2017)

Paralympian career

Dean Bergeron continued in the field of athletics with wheelchair racing, also known as

track and field athletics Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. He has participated in several world championships and other international competitions presenting this event. He competed at the

Atlanta 1996 Atlanta 1996 may refer to: * 1996 Summer Olympics * 1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a bud ...

, Sydney 2000,

Athens 2004 Athens 2004 may refer to: * 2004 Summer Olympics * 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 Internati ...

and Beijing 2008 Games, and recorded a total of 11 Paralympic medals.« Défi sportif alterego »
, Fiche technique – Dean Bergeron, présenté par

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...

(consulté le 18 September 2017) 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. He was a triple medalist at the 2008

(two gold and one bronze). He has also participated in the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

s 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.

Paralympic Games Results

At the

1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games where Internatio ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 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 The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was the last time that the Summer Paralympics were organized by two different Organ ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, 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 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 ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, 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 The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, 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 Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

Villeneuve-d'Ascq Villeneuve-d'Ascq (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants and 50,000 students, it is one of the main cities of the Métro ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) Event: 100m Position: 2nd position Result: 18.64 * 2002-07: CIP World Championships (

) Event: 400m Position: 2nd position Result: * 2002-07: CIP World Championships (

) Event: 200m Position: 3rd position Result: 35.02 * 1998-08-13: World Championships (

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) Event: 200m, 800m Position: 2nd position Result: * 1995: World Championships (

Stoke Mandeville Stoke Mandeville is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located three miles (5 km) from Aylesbury and 3.4 miles (5.5 km) from the market town of Wendover. Although a separate civil ...

) Event: 100m Position: 1st position Result: * 1995: World Championships (

) Event: 200m, 400m, 1500m Position: 1st position Result: * 1994-07-30: World Championships (

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) Event: 800 m Position: 1st position Result: 32.07

Career in insurance

In addition to athletics, Dean Bergeron also pursued a career in the insurance field. Since 1993, he has been working in the field of

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typical ...

. He has held positions as an insurance products advisor, including at

Desjardins Financial Security Desjardins Financial Security (DFS) is the life and health insurance arm of Desjardins Group, the leading financial institution in Quebec and the largest cooperative financial group in Canada. DFS registered a record-breaking revenue data in 201 ...

. In June 2009, Dean Bergeron joined La Capitale Financial Group. After holding various executive positions including Director of Marketing and Health Promotion, and Senior Director of Operations. He holds the position of Vice President of Administration and Client Relations in the

group insurance Group insurance is an insurance that covers a group of people, for example the members of a society or professional association, or the employees of a particular employer for the purpose of taking insurance. Group coverage can help reduce the proble ...

sector of this company. 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.

Honors

Dean Bergeron was named "Male Athlete of the Year" at the Sport-Québec Gala in 2009, a title recognizing the best athlete across all sports in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

(

Chantal Petitclerc Chantal Petitclerc (born 15 December 1969) is a Canadian wheelchair racer and a Senator from Quebec. Early life At the age of 13, Petitclerc lost the use of both legs in an accident when at a friend's farm, a heavy barn door fell on her, fra ...

having earned the same honor on the female side the same year). He chosen as one of sixteen athletes to carry the Paralympic Flame at the

2010 Paralympic Winter Games The 2010 Winter Paralympics (), or the tenth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, from March 12 to 21, 2010. The opening ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and had the honor of lighting the olympic bowl in

when the

flame A flame () is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction made in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density, they are then considered plasm ...

stopped there on December 2, 2009. Bergeron was admitted to the Parasports Quebec Hall of Fame in 2017. That same year, he was inducted into the . In April 2018, it was announced that the second ice rink of the Center Jean-Claude-Tremblay of The Bay would bear his name. The ice rink was one designed for the

Paralympic sports The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about ...

sledge hockey Sledge hockey, also known as Sled hockey in American English, and Para ice hockey in international competition, is an Parasports, adaptation of ice hockey for players who have a physical disability. The sport was invented in the early 1960s at a ...

. In June of the same year, he received the , also named Grand Graduate Award, which is the highest distinction awarded by the Foundation of

. On December 12, 2018, Dean Bergeron's name was given to the second ice rink of the arena of the

La Baie La Baie (, ) is one of three boroughs in the city of Saguenay, Quebec, Canada. It was created during Quebec's municipal reorganization in 2002. From 1976 to 2001, it was known as the Town of La Baie, a municipality composed of the Grande-Bai ...

borough of the city of Saguenay in recognition of his perseverance and athletic accomplishments.

References

External links

*
Profile
on Défi sportif {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergeron, Dean 1969 births Paralympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Sportspeople from Saguenay, Quebec Living people Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Laval Rouge et Or athletes Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Canadian male wheelchair racers 20th-century Canadian sportsmen