Nouvelles-sport canadien
June 2, 2007
Five gold medals for wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc at Swiss Open
IBACH, Switzerland- Chantal Petitclerc of Montreal kicked-off the international wheelchair track and field season in spectacular fashion Saturday earning five gold medals at the Swiss Open while Brent Lakatos of Dorval, Que., added two victories.
Petitclerc earned her victories in the 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1,500-metre wheelchair races for paraplegics (T54 category) under wet and cold conditions.
��It was a big day and it went very well,�� said Petitclerc, a double world champion last year after missing a big chunk of the season with an illness and a quintuple gold medalllist at the 2004 Paralympics. ��The forecast all week was for rain so we knew what we were headed for. I�m glad to do so well under those conditions I usually struggle in the rain but I was in control in every race. The times were ordinary so I was most pleased with my 1,500 because it is not my specialty.��
Lakatos, a native of Inuvik in the Northwest Territories, wheeled to victories in the 100 and 200 metre sprints and added silver in the 400 in the T53 category.
��It was great way to start the season,�� said Lakatos. ��I neared my best time in the 100 despite the conditions and the guy that beat me in the 400 (Hong Suk Man of South Korea), is the world record holder.��
Quadriplegic racer Dean Bergeron of Quebec City added silver medals in the 100, 200 and 800-metres and bronze in the 400 and 1,500 while Andr� Beaudoin of Cowansville, Que., added bronze medals in the 100, 200 and 800 for quads.
��I�m pretty satisfied with my performances, I was close to the winners,�� said Bergeron, who juggled training and full time work as an actuary this past winter.
Diane Roy of Sherbrooke, Que., took silver in the women�s 400 for paraplegics and added bronze in the 800 and 5,000.
Colin Mathieson of Mississauga, Ont., was fourth in the 200 and fifth in the 100 for paraplegics.
Full results at http://www.rollstuhlsportevents.ch/fileadmin/dokumente/Schweizer_Meisterschaft/Teilnehmer/rssranglistefahren_sa.pdf