Dennis Thiessen (born April 20, 1961, in

Crystal City, Manitoba Crystal City is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district in the Municipality of Louise within the Canadian province of Manitoba. It held village status prior to January 1, 2015. It is located on Highway 3, 16 kilometres no ...

) is a

wheelchair curler Wheelchair curling is an adaptation of curling for athletes with a disability affecting their lower limbs or gait. Wheelchair curling is governed by the World Curling Federation, and is one of the sports in the Paralympic Games, Winter Paralympic ...

who was part of the winning team in wheelchair curling for

Canada at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Canada competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, from March 7 to 16, 2014. Canada sent a team of 54 athletes to compete in all five sports, and finished with 7 gold medals and 16 overall (ranking 3rd and 4th respectively). This m ...

. He played on the winning Canadian team at the

2013 World Wheelchair Curling Championship The 2013 World Wheelchair Curling Championship was held from February 16 to 23 at the Ice Cube Curling Center, Sochi Olympic Curling Centre in Sochi, Russia. Canada won their third title after defeating Sweden in the final with a score of 4–3, ...

. His disability is that at seventeen he lost his leg. He is the only

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

n on the team and lives in

Sanford, Manitoba Sanford is an unincorporated community in the Rural Municipality of Macdonald in Manitoba. Sanford lies approximately 12 kilometres southwest of the provincial capital, Winnipeg. While it is generally considered a bedroom community with many resi ...

. He was inducted into the

Canadian Curling Hall of Fame The Canadian Curling Hall of Fame was established with its first inductees in 1973. It is operated by Curling Canada, the governing body for curling in Canada, in Orleans, Ontario. The Hall of Fame selection committee meets annually to choose induc ...

in 2019.

Personal

Thiessen was born in

on April 20, 1961, and now resides in

. He is married and has 2 children. In 1978, when Thiessen was 17 years old, he had an accident in his family's farm and had lost his leg. He was suggested to give wheelchair curling a try in 2005. He said that he was really inspired by another Manitoban winter sportsperson

Cindy Klassen Cindy Klassen, (born August 12, 1979) is a Canadians, Canadian retired long track speed skater. She is a six-time medallist having achieved one gold, two silver, three bronze at the Winter Olympics. She is the only Canadian Olympian to win five ...

and that she was "the ultimate professional and a great representative of Canada". He had also started the organization "Manitoba Farmers with Disabilities".

Career

Sochi 2014

At the age of 52, Thiessen has competed in his first Paralympic Games, he made the tryout two years before in 2012. After seeing the team, he said that "It was just an unbelievable feeling," Canada won the spot at the top of the podium by beating Russia 8–3. "It was an emotional high" explained Thiessen who has just won his first Paralympic Medal.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thiessen, Dennis 1961 births Living people Canadian male curlers Canadian wheelchair curlers Paralympic wheelchair curlers for Canada Paralympic medalists in wheelchair curling Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Wheelchair curlers at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Wheelchair curlers at the 2018 Winter Paralympics Wheelchair curlers at the 2022 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2022 Winter Paralympics Curlers from Manitoba World wheelchair curling champions Canadian wheelchair curling champions