Michael Edgson (born 6 May 1969) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

retired

Paralympic swimmer Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Para ...

. He is amongst the most successful Paralympians of all time having won 17 gold medals. He attended three Games between 1984 and 1992, winning medals in all but one of the events in which he competed individually. As a visually-impaired athlete Edgson competes in the B3 classification.

Early life

Born in North Vancouver on 6 May 1969, Edgson moved to

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

at a young age. He played ice hockey, soccer, and gymnastics but found that his visual impairment did not negatively affect him in swimming as it might in other sports and began swimming competitively at the age of eleven.

Swimming

He has competed internationally in both disability and able-bodied swimming events from age 14. Edgson set nine world records during a career that lasted twelve years. With 18 Paralympic gold medals Edgson is one of the most successful Canadian athletes of all time. He is a three-time recipient of the BC Disabled Athlete of the Year Award and was inducted into the

Terry Fox 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 2006. In 2009 Edgson became the first Paralympian to be honoured with a place in Swimming Canada's Circle of Excellence. In 2013, he was inducted in to the

Greater Victoria Greater Victoria (also known as the Greater Victoria Region) is located in British Columbia, Canada, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is usually defined as the thirteen municipalities of the Capital Regional District (CRD) ...

Sports Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

and in 2015 he was named to the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. 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 ...

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Edgson won five medals (four gold and one silver) and set four new records. His most successful haul came four years later in

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when he won nine events. He was chosen to carry the Canadian flag at the closing ceremony. Edgson went on to win four more gold medals and a silver in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

in Barcelona. After retiring from international competition Edgson became the finance director for the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgson, Michael Living people 1969 births Canadian Disability Hall of Fame Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic swimmers of Canada Canadian male freestyle swimmers Canadian male backstroke swimmers Canadian male butterfly swimmers Canadian male medley swimmers