Melvin Leo Fitzgerald CM (20 July 1953 – 2 October 2023) was a Canadian

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.

Biography

Fitzgerald was born in

Trepassey Trepassey () is a small fishing community located in Trepassey Bay on the south eastern corner of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was in Trepassey Harbour where the flight of the ''Friendship'' took off, with Amelia Earhar ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

in July 1953. He competed in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

in the 1980 and 1984 Paralympics, winning eight medals. He used a wheelchair since the age of two, when he was afflicted with

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

. He was named a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

(CM) in 1982, and in 2018 was inducted into the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association Hall of Fame. On 2 October 2023, Fitzgerald died from cardiovascular disease in New Zealand, where he had been living. He was 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Mel 1953 births 2023 deaths Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Paralympic track and field athletes for Canada Canadian male wheelchair racers Sportspeople from Newfoundland and Labrador Members of the Order of Canada 20th-century Canadian sportsmen