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Dave Durepos

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Dave Durepos
Medal record
Men's wheelchair basketball
Representing  Canada
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Men's team
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Men's team
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Men's team
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Men's team

David "Dave" Durepos (born July 14, 1968) is a Canadian retired wheelchair basketball player. He is married to fellow Paralympian Sabrina Pettinicchi. As a member of Team Canada, Durepos competed in five Paralympic Games where he won 3 gold medals along with one silver. On September 25, 2012, the City of Fredericton proclaimed that date to be Dave Durepos Day.

Early life

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Durepos was born on July 14, 1968, in Fredericton, New Brunswick.[1] He attended and graduated from the New Brunswick Community College in 1984 with a degree in Steel Fabrication.[2] After suffering from a spinal cord injury due to a motorcycle crash in 1988, he lost the use of his legs.[3]

Career

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Durepos joined Canada men's national wheelchair basketball team in 1994.[4] He served as Captain for Team Canada in the 2000 Summer Paralympics where they won their first Paralympic gold medal.[5] As a result, Durepos became the first New Brunswick player to bring home an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal.[1]

In the following years, he joined the National Wheelchair Basketball Association where he led the Milwaukee Bucks to a Final Four Championship title in 2002 and became the first Canadian to be named MVP in Division I of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association.[1] He also received Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee Medal.[6] In 2004, Durepos was selected to compete at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens.[7] While still a member of the Canada National Team, Durepos was named MVP back-to-back at the Canadian National Championships in 2006 and 2007.[1] Before retiring, Durepos helped lead Canada to a gold medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games.[8] After retiring in 2012, the City of Fredericton proclaimed that September 25 would be christened Dave Durepos Day.[9] Two years later, he was inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame.[10] He later coached New Brunswick's Canada Games wheelchair basketball team alongside his wife Sabrina Pettinicchi in 2015.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Dave Durepos". wheelchairbasketball.ca. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  2. ^ "2017 Alumni Award Recipients". nbcc.ca. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  3. ^ "Fredericton wheelchair basketball star to retire". cbc.ca. June 21, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  4. ^ "CPC celebrates the career of Paralympic wheelchair basketball champion David Durepos". independentsportsnews.com. January 15, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  5. ^ "Team Canada Bids Farewell To Wheelchair Basketball Great Dave Durepos". wheelchairbasketball.ca. January 15, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  6. ^ "MR. DAVE DUREPOS". gg.ca. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "Athens 2004 Get Pumped for the Paralympics!". abilities.ca. September 17, 2004. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  8. ^ Kingston, Gary (September 8, 2012). "Canada reclaims gold in men's wheelchair basketball against Australia". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  9. ^ "City of Fredericton Proclaims September 25, 2012 as Dave Durepos Day". wheelchairbasketball.ca. September 24, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  10. ^ "New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame announces 2014 inductees". gnb.ca. February 28, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  11. ^ "Wheelchair Sports New Brunswick Announces Roster for 2015 Canada Winter Games Wheelchair Basketball Team". wheelchairbasketball.ca. January 9, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
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