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Dean Bergeron
Dean Bergeron: living your dreams differently
It had not gone to his liking at the Athens Games where he earned the bronze medal in the 800 m. Ironically, in Beijing, it is the only distance that did not lead to a podium!
For his fourth Paralympic Games, Dean Bergeron spoiled himself. I had a bitter taste
following my performances in Athens. I gave myself four more years to come full circle.
I wanted to do another cycle to conclude my 20-year career with a flourish
, the
wheelchair athlete tells.
Paralympic champion in 100 m and 200 m in the T52, he also captured bronze in the 400 m.
Everything was in place to achieve that
, the Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures resident explains.
Winning gold in the 100 m remains his greatest moment for him; especially that he was sharing it
with his friend and teammate André Beaudoin, also on the podium for the bronze. Finishing together
was magic
, says Bergeron who created a surprise, first to himself, with his win. He was not
favourite and particularly, he was in fifth place half-way to the finish. The Quebecer made quite
a comeback towards the end to finish on top. That race is such a message: in life you shouldn’t
let go!
he says.
From skates to wheelchair
Before his twenties, Dean Bergeron was gearing for a professional career in hockey. Playing for
the Shawinigan Cataractes in the QMJHL, he brutally found himself in a wheelchair after being hit
hard by one of his teammates during training. He was 17 years old. It thought at that point that
it was all over. I was frustrated with sports, he had smashed all my dreams
, he remembers.
Subsequent to meeting Pierre Pomerleau, his coach to be who would follow him over the 20 years to
come, Dean saw that he still could fulfill himself in sports. He reconnected me with my athletic
dream… but differently.
Taking up sports again, he had high ambitions. I was a born competitor. I immediately saw myself
going fast, going to the Paralympic Games and winning races. I knew it was only a question of work
and time
, recalls the one who rewrote numerous records. The Quebecer is also the first T52 wheelchair
athlete to go under the minute mark in 400 m.
With passion, he never misses an opportunity to talk about his experience in order to inspire others.
I want to pass on to them the desire to live life to the fullest. As much as I believed that nothing
was possible, today I believe that there are unique opportunities to do things. All that’s missing is
to find the means, whether in a wheelchair or on two legs.
The athlete often goes anywhere required
to give talks.
Like a majority of Quebec paralympic athletes, Dean Bergeron started out at the Défi sportif and has not
missed one in the last 20 years. Some years, it was snowing and we would race with a tuque on our
head. Other times it was the rain. I also lived through flats
, he recounts.
In spite of the bad weather that the end of April brought each year, the paralympic champion felt it was
his duty to take part in the Défi sportif. It is fascinating to see everything that surrounds the Défi.
Adrenalin flows from meeting all the athletes with different disabilities and practicing different sports.
You feel something is happening and the proximity with the people is truly interesting.
At the crossroads
This accomplished athlete will soon bring his wheelchair athletics career to an end. It’s time to move
on to something else
, Bergeron states. He will retire from competition gradually. I don’t want to
cut all ties suddenly, it will happen progressively
, he adds.
The future plans of the actuary with the Desjardins Group? Find new sensations. I want to take part
in a triathlon and race a motorcycle.
He also wants to be more of a presence at home and see his
companion’s two sons grow up. And go back to the arenas with the oldest who started playing hockey!
