Josh Cassidy (born November 15, 1984, in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

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 ...

) is a Canadian wheelchair racer. In 2010, Cassidy won the

2010 London Marathon The 2010 London Marathon was the 30th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 25 April. The elite men's race was won by Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede in a time of 2:05:19 hours and the elite women's ...

with a time of 1:35:21 seconds. In 2012, he won the 2012 Boston Marathon wheelchair race with a time of 1:18:25, which at the time was the fastest wheelchair marathon time ever recorded, though didn't count as a world record due to the Boston Marathon course being ineligible for world records. Cassidy represented Canada at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

, finishing 10th in the 5000m, 12th in the 1500m, and 17th in the 800m. At the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

, Cassidy placed 12th in the marathon, 20th in the 5000m, 10th in the 1500m, and 5th in the 800m. In 2019, he won the

Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...

. Cassidy joined the Canadian team for the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, and was named as co-flagbearer for the opening ceremony alongside

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

Maude Charron. He came in 4th in the men's T54 marathon.

Personal life

Josh Cassidy was born in Ottawa on November 15, 1984. He was diagnosed with

neuroblastoma Neuroblastoma (NB) is a type of cancer that forms in certain types of nerve tissue. It most frequently starts from one of the adrenal glands but can also develop in the neck, chest, abdomen, or spine. Symptoms may include bone pain, a lump in the ...

cancer in the spine and abdomen weeks after birth. He was given a very low chance of survival but was declared cancer-free after 5 years of remission, but it left his legs partially paralyzed. He is the oldest of ten children. He has graduated from

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology) is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west-Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Founded in ...

with a

Bachelor of Applied Arts The Bachelor of Applied Arts, often abbreviated as BAA or B.A.A. is an undergraduate degree, with different meaning in different countries. The term 'Applied' means that the degree is vocational in nature, and not research-oriented (depending on the ...

.Official Website - About
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References

External links

* * * 1984 births Living people Canadian male wheelchair racers Athletes from Ottawa Paralympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic wheelchair racers Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games 21st-century Canadian people {{Canada-athletics-bio-stub