OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper today congratulated Colette Bourgonje, whose outstanding performance in the women’s 10-kilometre sitting cross-country skiing event was rewarded with a silver medal at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.
 
"On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to Colette Bourgonje on winning Canada's first medal at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games," said Prime Minister Harper.  “Today, Colette has become part of the rich history of exceptional accomplishments by Canadian athletes.  She is an inspiration to all Canadians.”
 
Ms. Bourgonje was born in Saskatoon and now resides in Canmore, Alberta.  She began her athletic career competing in national competitions in cross country running.  After a car accident in 1980 that paralyzed her from the waist down, she switched her focus to wheelchair racing.  She won two bronze medals in wheelchair racing at the Barcelona 1992 Paralympic Games, the same year she made her Winter Paralympic debut in sitting cross-country skiing at the Tignes-Albertville 1992 Paralympic Winter Games.  She won two silver medals in cross-country ski events at the Nagano 1998 Paralympic Winter Games, which launched her into the record books as a repeat medalist in both the Summer and Winter Games.  Among other honours, Ms. Bourgonje was named Saskatoon Athlete of the Year in 1996 and was inducted into the Saskatoon Sport Hall of Fame.  These are her ninth Paralympic Games.
 
Cross-country skiing was introduced as a sport at the first Paralympic Winter Games in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.  Competitions are open to athletes with a physical disability or visual impairment.  Cross-country skiers use two basic techniques: classical and freestyle.  For more information about this sport, visit the website of the Canadian Paralympic Committee.
 
The 2010 Paralympic Winter Games are being held from March 12 to 21.  More than 1,000 athletes and team officials from more than 40 countries are competing in a five-sport, 64-event competition schedule at venues in Vancouver and Whistler.  Canada is represented by more than 50 athletes at the competition.