Joanne Berdan (née Bouw; born May 1, 1963) is a Canadian medallist in

Paralympic athletics Para-athletics is the sport of athletics practised by people with a disability as a disabled sports, parasport. The list of athletics events, athletics events within the parasport are mostly the same as those available to able-bodied people, w ...

. During her Paralympic career, Berdan won a total of 10 Paralympic medals. She was inducted into both the

Canadian Paralympic Committee The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC; French: ''Comité paralympique canadien'') is the private, non-profit organization representing Canadian Paralympic athletes in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Parapan American Games. ...

Hall of Fame and

Canadian Disability Hall of Fame The Canadian Disability Hall of Fame (formerly the Terry Fox Hall of Fame), recognizes "outstanding Canadians who have made extraordinary contributions to enriching the quality of life for people with physical disabilities". It is run by the Canadia ...

in 2003.

Early life and education

Berdan was born on May 1, 1963, in St. Catharines,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. She completed her post-secondary studies at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1986.

Career

Berdan won her first Paralympic medals at the

1984 Summer Paralympics The 1984 International Games for the Disabled, canonically the 1984 Summer Paralympics were the seventh Paralympic Games to be held. There were two separate competitions: one in Stoke Mandeville, England, United Kingdom for wheelchair athletes ...

. She won a gold in shot put and javelin alongside a bronze in discus and long jump. At the following Paralympics, Berdan was gold in the discus, javelin and shot put events during the

1988 Summer Paralympics The 1988 Summer Paralympics () were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used officially. Bidding proc ...

. Her final Paralympic medals were at the

1992 Summer Paralympics )( es, Deporte Sin Límites) , nations = 82 (BCN)75 (MAD) , athletes = 3,020 (BCN)1,600 (MAD) , opened_by = Queen Sofía , opening = 3 September (BCN)15 September (MAD) , closing = 14 September (BCN)22 September (MAD) , even ...

where she repeated her three golds medals from the previous Paralympics. Alongside her Paralympic medals in 1992, Berdan broke the world records for shot put and discus in the cerebral palsy sport classification. While she competed at the

1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympic Games, Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games ...

in the shot put and discus, Berdan did not medal. Outside of the Paralympics, Berdan won gold at the 1990 World Championships and Games for the Disabled and the 1994

IPC Athletics World Championships The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...

. She ended her sports career in 1996 and is currently working in

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

Awards and honours

In 2002, Berdan was awarded the

Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

. The following year, Berdan was inducted into the

Hall of Fame and the

. Other hall of fame inductions include the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association Hall of Fame in 2005 and the University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

Personal life

Berdan is married and has one child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berdan, Joanne 1963 births Living people Cerebral Palsy category Paralympic competitors Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Paralympic track and field athletes for Canada Sportspeople from St. Catharines Canadian Disability Hall of Fame Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Canadian female discus throwers Canadian female javelin throwers Canadian female shot putters