Denis Lapalme
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Denis Orval Lapalme |
| Born | 29 April 1959 Timmins, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | 1 November 2021 (aged 62) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Sport | Paralympic athletics Paralympic swimming |
| Disability class | C1 |
Medal record | |
Denis Orval Lapalme (April 29, 1959 – November 1, 2021) was a Canadian amputee athlete and actor, most noted as a competitor and medalist at the Paralympic Games.[1]
Born in Timmins, Ontario, Lapalme lost both legs in a train accident in childhood.[2] As an adult he was based principally in Ottawa, where he has worked as a civil servant.[2]
Athletic career
[edit]He competed in swimming at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, winning a bronze medal in the men's 100-metre freestyle and a silver in the men's 100-metre breaststroke.[1]
At the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem, Netherlands, he competed in both track and swimming, winning gold medals in the men's 100-metre sprint, javelin and 100-meter backstroke, a silver medal in the 100-metre breaststroke, and a bronze medal in the 100-metre freestyle.[1]
Lapalme competed on the men's wheelchair basketball team at both the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea[3] and the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain.[4] but the team did not medal at either event.
He also competed nationally and internationally in other track and wheelchair basketball competitions below the Paralympic level,[5] including at the IWAS World Games in 1979.[6]
Although no longer active as a Paralympic competitor after 1992, he remained involved in sports as late as the early 2010s as captain of the Ottawa Sledgehammers, the city's sledge hockey team.[7] Lapalme died on November 1, 2021, in Hull, Quebec at the age of 62 of brain cancer.[8]
Acting
[edit]Following the end of his Paralympic career he was cast in his first acting role, as Jerome of Sandy Cove in Phil Comeau's 1994 film Jerome's Secret.[9] He subsequently had small parts in the films Bleeders and Two Lovers and a Bear, and an episode of the television series F/X: The Series.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Robert Lagacé, "Denis Lapalme heureux d'avoir vécu dans le «secret» sur grand écran". L'Acadie Nouvelle, October 13, 2015.
- ^ a b Randy Phillips, "Lapalme leads way to Defi crown". Montreal Gazette, May 5, 1997.
- ^ Rick Mayoh, "Strong Canadian team in medal chase at Seoul Paralympics". Ottawa Citizen, October 15, 1988.
- ^ "Paralympic gold for Regina racer". Edmonton Journal, September 9, 1992.
- ^ "Bronze for Canada". Edmonton Journal, August 12, 1990.
- ^ "Canadians add gold in Stoke Mandeville". The Globe and Mail, September 1, 1979.
- ^ "Diverse mix of players produces winning formula for Ottawa Sledgehammers". Toronto.com, April 21, 2011.
- ^ "Denis Orval Lapalme". The Ottawa Citizen. November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ "The Acadian Tale About A Mysterious Amputee". Canada AM, March 30, 1995.
External links
[edit]- 1959 births
- 2021 deaths
- Track and field athletes from Ottawa
- Canadian amputees
- Canadian male film actors
- Canadian male television actors
- Paralympic swimmers for Canada
- Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for Canada
- Paralympic track and field athletes for Canada
- Paralympic gold medalists for Canada
- Paralympic silver medalists for Canada
- Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Paralympics
- Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Paralympics
- Swimmers at the 1980 Summer Paralympics
- Wheelchair basketball players at the 1988 Summer Paralympics
- Wheelchair basketball players at the 1992 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 1976 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics
- Sportspeople from Timmins
- Swimmers from Ottawa
- Male actors from Ottawa
- Amputee actors
- Canadian sledge hockey players
- Javelin throwers with limb difference
- Canadian male wheelchair racers
- Franco-Ontarian people
- Canadian actors with disabilities
- Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Paralympic medalists in swimming
- 20th-century Canadian sportsmen