Category
Athlete
Sport
Paralympic Nordic Skiing
Hometown
Shippagan
Year Inducted
2021
paralympics, athlete
Louis Fortin
HONOURED MEMBER
Biography
First, Paralympic cross-country skier Louis Fortin of Shippagan, New Brunswick plotted the trail. Then, he blazed it, by way of Sochi, Russia, right into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame.
At age 14, he had his right arm amputated at the shoulder due to bone cancer. He didn’t begin competing until he was 31, training on his own with the goal of representing New Brunswick at the 2011 Canada Games in Prince George, B.C. A study in perseverance and determination, he trained with athletes who were preparing for the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver. Though he finished last in each of three race simulations, he kept going, kept training. It paid off: he captured two silver medals at the 2011 Canada Games and was invited to his first World Cup competition in 2012.
He drew the attention of Team Canada coaches by finishing among the top 10 at two World Cup events and competed for Canada at the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.
Inducted into the NB Sports Hall of Fame, October 15, 2021.
Quick Facts
Survived bone cancer at age 14, but his right arm had to be amputated
Paralympian at the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia
Won two silver medals in 2011; two gold and a silver medal in 2015 at the Canada Winter Games
Two top-10 finishes on the Para World Nordic Skiing circuit