Josh Cassidy (born November 15, 1984, in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

) is a Canadian Paralympic wheelchair racer,motivational speaker, artist, and actor. He is a 31 time Canadian Champion competing in the middle to long distance events. He has been National Champion and held National records at times throughout his career in the 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m and Marathon. In 2005, he was carded as a Canadian National Team athlete, and competed in his first world championships in 2006 in Assen, Netherlands. Cassidy represented Canada 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 ...

, finishing 10th in the 5000m, 12th in the 1500m, and 17th in the 800m. In 2010, Cassidy won the

2010 London Marathon The 2010 London Marathon was the 30th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 25 April. The elite men's race was won by Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede in a time of 2:05:19 hours and the elite women's r ...

with a time of 1:35:21 seconds. In 2012, he won the

2012 Boston Marathon The 2012 Boston Marathon took place in Boston, Massachusetts on Monday April 16, 2012. It was the 116th edition of the mass-participation marathon. Organized by the Boston Athletic Association, it was the first of the World Marathon Majors series ...

wheelchair race with a time of 1:18:25, which at the time became the fastest wheelchair marathon time ever recorded, though didn't count as a world record due to the Boston Marathon course being ineligible for world records. His record stood for five years until broken by Marcel Hug of Switzerland in 2017. At the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

, Cassidy competed whilst fighting a bacteria infection. He placed 12th in the marathon, 20th in the 5000m, 10th in the 1500m. He overcame a crash in the 800m, and still placed 5th. He won the

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a road marathon held in October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the seven World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is one of the largest races by number of fini ...

in 2012. In 2013 Cassidy won Bronze in the 10,000m at the World Championships in Lyon, France. He has won the

Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...

twice. In 2019 he overcame the odds when his racing chair had snapped in half the day before, but he managed to get a friend to fly a spare racer to him that night, hours before the race. He won LA Marathon again in 2023. Cassidy won the

Sydney Marathon The Sydney Marathon is a marathon held annually in Sydney, Australia each September. The event was first held on the 30th of April 2000 and called The Host City Marathon as a test event for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and has continued every ...

in 2023 and 2024. Cassidy joined the Canadian team for the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

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 ...

, and was named as co-flagbearer for the opening ceremony alongside

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

Maude Charron Maude G. Charron (born 28 April 1993) is a Canadian Olympic weightlifting, weightlifter, who competes in the 63/64 kg category and represents Canada at international competitions. She is an 2020 Summer Olympics, Olympic and 2018 Commonwealth Games ...

. He came in 4th in the men's T54 marathon.

Personal life

Josh Cassidy was born in Ottawa on November 15, 1984. He was diagnosed with

neuroblastoma Neuroblastoma (NB) is a type of cancer that forms in certain types of nerve tissue. It most frequently starts from one of the adrenal glands but can also develop in the head, neck, chest, abdomen, or Vertebral column, spine. Symptoms may include ...

cancer in the spine and abdomen weeks after birth. He was given a very low chance of survival but was declared cancer-free after 5 years of remission, but it left his legs partially paralyzed. He lived across Canada during his father's career in the military as a fighter pilot, where they resided at several base locations. When Josh was nine, his family settled on a farm in Bruce County, Ontario. Josh is the oldest of ten children. He has graduated from

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology, is a public polytechnic institute partnered with private Canadian College of Technology and Trades operating campuses ...

with a

Bachelor of Applied Arts The Bachelor of Applied Arts, often abbreviated as BAA or B.A.A. is an undergraduate degree, with different meaning in different countries. The term 'Applied' means that the degree is vocational in nature, and not research-oriented (depending on the ...

in Illustration.

References

External links

* * * * * 1984 births Living people Canadian male wheelchair racers Track and field athletes from Ottawa Paralympic track and field athletes for Canada Paralympic wheelchair racers Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Parapan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Parapan American Games silver medalists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics {{Canada-athletics-bio-stub