One of Canada's most accomplished athletes, Chantal Petitclerc.
Five-time Paralympic gold medallist Chantal Petitclerc has been chosen to carry the Canadian flag at tonight’s Opening Ceremony of the Games.
The veteran wheelchair racer will feature prominently in the ground-breaking Commonwealth Games in which she will be an equal to every other athlete in competition.
“This is very special to me,” said Petitclerc in Canada's Globe and Mail.
“To me, this is the ultimate proof that if you have a strong commitment to your goals and dreams, if you wake up everyday with a passion to do your job or your sport, everything is possible,” she said accepting her position at the reception for Canada’s 253 athlete contingent.
At the Manchester Games in 2002 she won a gold medal that for the first time wasn’t a demonstration, but in the main event.
Melbourne 2006 features fully integrated disability events, “something I was fighting for, for years,” said Petitclerc.
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