Denis Lapalme

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]

Denis Lapalme
Personal information
Full nameDenis Orval Lapalme
Born(1959-04-29)29 April 1959
Timmins, Ontario, Canada
Died1 November 2021(2021-11-01) (aged 62)
Sport
Country Canada
SportParalympic athletics
Paralympic swimming
Disability classC1
Medal record
Paralympic swimming
Representing  Canada
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place1980 Arnhem100m backstroke C1-D1
Silver medal – second place1976 Toronto100m breaststroke C1
Silver medal – second place1980 Arnhem100m breaststroke C1
Bronze medal – third place1976 Toronto100m freestyle C1
Bronze medal – third place1980 Arnhem100m freestyle C1-C1
Paralympic athletics
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place1980 Arnhem100m C1
Gold medal – first place1980 ArnhemJavelin throw C1

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

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Although no longer active as a Paralympic competitor after 1992, he remained involved in sports as late as the early 2010s as captain of the Ottawa Sledgehammers, the city's sledge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

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
  1. Robert Lagacé, "Denis Lapalme heureux d'avoir vécu dans le «secret» sur grand écran". L'Acadie Nouvelle, October 13, 2015.
  2. Randy Phillips, "Lapalme leads way to Defi crown". Montreal Gazette, May 5, 1997.
  3. Rick Mayoh, "Strong Canadian team in medal chase at Seoul Paralympics". Ottawa Citizen, October 15, 1988.
  4. "Paralympic gold for Regina racer". Edmonton Journal, September 9, 1992.
  5. "Bronze for Canada". Edmonton Journal, August 12, 1990.
  6. "Canadians add gold in Stoke Mandeville". The Globe and Mail, September 1, 1979.
  7. "Diverse mix of players produces winning formula for Ottawa Sledgehammers". Toronto.com, April 21, 2011.
  8. "Denis Orval Lapalme". The Ottawa Citizen. November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  9. "The Acadian Tale About A Mysterious Amputee". Canada AM, March 30, 1995.
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