COLETTE BOURGONJE

Colette Bourgonje’s life-long love of physical activity led to her being one of Canada’s most decorated Paralympians. Colette became the first Canadian to compete in both the summer and winter Paralympics, making her debut at each five months apart. Colette competed in an incredible 10 Paralympic Games – three Summer and seven Winter. During her storied career, she also won 10 Paralympic medals – three silver medals and seven bronze medals, while also being Canada’s flag bearer twice during the closing ceremonies.

Colette never stopped in her promotion of the Paralympic movement. Colette first involvement with the Saskatchewan Winter Games was in 2018 when they were held in North Battleford. It was the first time that Para Nordic athletes were involved in the Games and Colette was elated to be a coach. She recalled: “The venue was Blue Mountain which is a hidden gem in our province and as an athlete I spent many hours training on those trails. So, I was excited for the two sit skiers to have an opportunity to train on and race on those same ones.” For Colette, she says it was exciting to know that if we spend time searching for and training potential para athletes, they will grow up knowing they have the same opportunities as other athletes in our province. “They can be a part of the Long Term Athlete Development Model just like everyone else, and maybe represent our province and our country if they work hard enough and love their sport,” Colette said.

She described the Games’ legacy as empowering athletes to think bigger, dream larger, set new goals and provide a start for the next Olympic or Paralympic Champion right in our own backyard. Since the Games, Colette continues to find young skiers to coach and train for competitions across the province. From a community perspective, she is part of the Never Give Up Program run by The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. Additionally, through Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, she is part of the Indigenous Sport Heroes Education Experience and will be streamed into the classroom to promote sport and a physically active lifestyle.