Jacques Martin ( – April 19, 2012) was 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 ...

competing mainly in category F55 throwing events.

Biography

Martin was from

Saint-Denis-de-Brompton, Quebec Saint-Denis-de-Brompton is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, part of the Regional County Municipality of Le Val-Saint-François, within the larger administrative region of Estrie. It is located approximately 145 kilometres east ...

. Martin competed in every Paralympic Games from

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

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 ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. In 1984 he won the shot put for class 4 athletes while also competing in the javelin and discus. He improved on this feat in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, defending his gold in the shot and winning a bronze in the discus. Although he did not win a third straight shot put competition in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, he still improved, winning the discus for the first time, winning his first medal in javelin, a silver, and finishing in the bronze medal position in the shot put. In 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 ...

he defended his discus gold medal and again won silver in the javelin. 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 ...

saw Martin pick up what would prove to be his last medal, a silver in the discus as he was unable to medal in either shot or javelin. He was also unable to medal in either the discus or javelin 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 ...

. Martin died April 19, 2012, of a heart attack.

References

2012 deaths Paralympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Paralympics 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 Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Date of birth missing Year of birth uncertain Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Canadian male discus throwers Canadian male shot putters Wheelchair discus throwers Wheelchair shot putters Paralympic discus throwers Paralympic shot putters 20th-century Canadian sportsmen 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games athletes for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics {{Canada-Paralympic-medalist-stub