Colette Bourgonje

Cross-Country Skiing

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Colette Bourgonje began her athletic career competing in national competitions in cross-country running. A car accident in 1980 caused a spinal-cord injury that paralyzed her from the waist down, and she switched her focus to wheelchair racing. It was not until 1991 that she was introduced to cross-country sit-skiing by Para-Nordic athlete, Joe Harrison. Colette continued to compete in both wheelchair racing and cross-country sit-skiing and went on to win two more bronze medals in wheelchair racing at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games, and four fourth-place finishes at the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Paralympic Games. It was her double silver medals in the 2.5km and 5km cross-country ski events at the Nagano 1998 Paralympic Winter Games, which launched her into the record books, as a repeat medalist in both the Summer and Winter Games. In Salt Lake City, she finished fourth in the 2.5km, sixth in the 10km, and ninth in the 5km events. In Torino, she placed sixth in the 2.5km, and won bronze in the 5km and 10km events. Colette Bourgonje has also competed in wheelchair racing demonstration events at the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

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